Today, a case study on how iwillteachyoutoberich reader Andrew unlocked his first $18,000 in side income by investing in himself and OVER-DELIVERING to his client.

In today’s exercise, think big: What kind of a) investment and b) implementation would it take to unlock the next $10,000 for you?

Today, you’ll get:

• A detailed audio case study with Andrew: how he choreographed a highly detailed and sophisticated execution that converted a customer’s problem into recurring revenue
• A video of the food he delivered to me (including subtle details he used to convey value)
• The actual emails between us — including the rapid prototyping to develop before & after versions of his marketing material

In other words, he didn’t just get in my head. He over-delivered.

It’s not just about sitting and reading theories on getting in your customer’s head. When you deliver your service — whether it’s project management, technical writing, or even babysitting — you have to over-deliver an extraordinary product.

That’s why Andrew can charge me so much.

That’s why I’m giving you this material free — and why my full Earn1k course is a premium course, not some $97 ebook.

And that’s how you can make your first $1,000/month — and then escalate from there.

Andrew did one thing that we haven’t covered yet this week: He successfully built the bridge between strategies and implementation, and got me to pay him $750 a month for doing it. How?

1. Case study: How to impress a high-value client and get paid

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INTRO
0:00 What do you do for your day job?
0:48 How have you started earning money on the side?

INVESTING IN YOURSELF
1:20 Let’s back up…tell us about Boot Camp. Why would you pay?
2:12 Deciding to invest
3:50 Now, how’d you come up with this idea?

HOW YOU STARTED IT OFF
4:27 What did you do first (email, etc)?
6:19 How’d you end up making food?
8:35 Then what?

LEARNING ABOUT CUSTOMERS
9:20 How do you get inside customer’s heads?
12:57 Fears, hopes, goals
15:39 Lowering rates and choosing scale
19:24 What I’m selling or what you need
21:57 How do you target customers? It seems like a lot of people could do this, but NOBODY does.
23:46 Thoughts on Earn1k

2. Video: What am I paying for?

3. Actual back-and-forth email consulting session

The initial email Andrew sent me:

I laughed and told him I didn’t care about learning, I wanted someone to cook for me. Andrew said he would bring over food that Sunday for me to try.

Then I decided to help him market the service to other people (because the more customers he gets, the cheaper it is for me).

Below are the actual emails where I help him re-shape his service to be more customer-focused. The emails are real — no editing — so please excuse the typos.

This is the first draft of a “sales letter” that Andrew sent over. Notice how it’s all about Andrew, not the client.

My feedback to help Andrew make his offer more customer-focused. Notice how the advice is focused on helping him GET IN HIS CUSTOMERS’ HEADS. How much do you think this one email is worth to Andrew?

Andrew’s revised sales offer:

My feedback, where I get in the customer’s head and show you what they REALLY care about.

The final sales offer. Notice how this really resonates with his client by getting in their head.

Your Thursday  To-Do

2 months ago, Andrew Baber did not have any customers, worked at a “meh” job, and did not make money on the side. This month, he’ll be making $1,500 over his regular income, and he’s just getting started.

Where will Andrew be in 3 months? Where will he be in 6 months? What about in a year?

Even if he does NOTHING to scale up his business, and just keeps going at his current rate, in one year he will have made $18,000 on the side.

If he works in even just a few simple strategies to increase his business or raise his rates, how much more do you think he could make?

$25,000? $40,000? More?

What would it take for him to unlock that extra tens of thousands of dollars? Would it be worth it to learn how?

EXERCISE: Leave a comment below

1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

• If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
• If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
• If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

Most people never think about investing in themselves at these levels. Today, as you leave your comment below, you’ll see why it matters.

The first project…$3,100. The second one… $15,140. I don’t think I’ve ever quoted prices this high or made sales this easily in the past!

-Richard Garand, Earn1k Alumn

Post comments

1. Michele Brisson says:

   July 13, 2010 at 1:23 pm

   1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it?

   I am a math tutor who also works to eliminate students’ math fears and blocks using energy psychology. In order to over-deliver, I am going to have students answer questions to help identify block areas and then we will work to eliminate them first . I will teach them the basics of EFT and show them how we can create confidence quickly and easily. Additionally, I will allow students to email with math questions that I can help answer during the week.

   And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.
   In order to over-deliver, I am going to have students answer questions to help identify block areas and then we will work to eliminate them first . I will teach them the basics of EFT and show them how we can create confidence quickly and easily. Additionally, I will allow students to email with math questions that I can help answer during the week. I would like to work with multiple students at a time to show them how easy it is to improve their confidence together and it costs less for the parents.
   ”
   * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

   I would invest in coaching to help me create my brochures, etc.

   * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
   I would invest in coaching to help me focus on right clientele who have money to spend on their kids. I would also set up a place in my home for tutoring. I would also invest in public speaking skills so I can give speeches to organizations to help market.

   * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
   I would continue with self improvement courses and take a course to help me redefine and get all my marketing lined up to become successful. I would also want more coaching to help me realize I can make more than a $1000 a month side business..

   Reply
2. Lesley says:

   July 9, 2010 at 11:34 am

   1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

   I was going to start a website and rely on word of mouth for advertising. Now, I think I’ll still launch my website but be more proactive in sussing out my first clients for a one month trial. To over-deliver to my client, I will have one service specific to one technology but offer alternatives as well – such as setting up their first blog and teaching them how to grow it, or providing more ways to develop and nurture relationships through different social media channels as opposed to just the basics.

   If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
   I’d use this money to join associations that are in line with what I’m going to school for (communications & PR/Marketing). I’d use that opportunity to meet new people, do informational interviews, get my name out there and position myself as a social media coach for busy business professionals who want to learn about social media, but just don’t have time.

   If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
   I’d use this money to go to a conference outside of my home city – perhaps in Toronto.
   If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
   I’d spend this on my tuition because my education is worth way more than 5k.

   Reply
3. Jennifer says:

   June 20, 2010 at 8:45 am

   1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

   I was going to wait for a client to tell me what he/she wants, and do the work. Now, I’m going to try to come up with ideas for how I can provide additional value for the situation by considering the other related skills I have. For example, I am currently contracting as a technical writer to document and implement a process for smoothing the deployments of applications into production, but I can also write and test code. I am considering what other deliverables (besides documents that won’t be read) that I can provide to enable the process to be implemented and enforced. A few thoughts: online forms; scripts that check for required elements in the code or deployment package; workflow process.

   2.If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

   I’m currently spending it on an SQL and database design course. I need it if I’m going to pursue an MIS.MBA, and it won’t hurt my resume to know SQL better.

   * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

   – Getting Java developer certification; I have experience in Java, and some employers like the paper.
   – Learning .NET and C# well enough to get an interview and a job offer. I worked for anti-Microsoft for a long time, and most local IT shops are Microsoft-based.

   * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

   A couple of semesters of the MIS.MBA program. I believe that’s the direction my career is going in, and I live in a place that tends to live an die by credentials.

   Reply
4. Peter says:

   June 19, 2010 at 1:03 pm

   I hereby question you, Ramit: how can I tell what I am thinking or feeling as a customer myself? How can I explore myself in the customer role to I really understand what I would really like?

   I ask you this because you act and sound like a guy who really knows and understands himself. This is actually a sign of emotional intelligence and probably a major reason why your projects are successful. I find that if I can learn to explore myself and come to a sophisticated understanding of myself then I can learn how customers think and feel, and why they might have a problem realizing what they really need–for what they’d pay a lot of money.

   I was in the store today and thought about my habits. I found candy bars and sausages that tempted me, but then I thought about my health and talked myself out of the purchases. That made me think, why would I want them in the first place? What am I really trying to buy? I know they are tasty products, but what is the benefit to the products? What is the motivating need?

   I know the impulsive shopper example was very trivial, but the point is learning how to explore and understand what’s going on inside of me. How could I come to understand that I’d rather pay someone to do something for me? How can I discover the benefits I really want?

   So, how can I learn about myself as a customer, shopper, and find even needs and wants that I am not aware?

   Reply
5. Aaron says:

   June 12, 2010 at 11:36 am

   I was thinking about delivering my idea to clients via email and the internet. After viewing the lesson above, I now believe the delivery of my service should be more individually focused and tailored to my target client(s) where they know they need what I’m selling via targeted ads, emails and samples that they can see/use for themselves.

   With $500, I would spent it on books that would help me overcome my fear of selling myself. This would get me confident enough to find out what’s going on in my customer’s head and react to that first NO. With $1000, in addition to books, I would also take a class or two on selling and marketing in order to perfect the art of selling benefits, and not just features of the service I intend to provide to potential clients. With $5000, I would have a private coach work one on one with me to practice the art of selling myself in order to gain the confidence I needed to sell my services.

   Reply
6. Mary Ann Masesar says:

   February 7, 2010 at 11:30 am

   1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

   My freelance idea to earn money is to offer a lifestyle management service to individuals between the ages of 20-40. This includes the provision of a local wellness studio with access to personal training, massage therapy, nutrition counseling, yoga/pilates and overall lifestyle coaching (i.e. stress management, financial freedom). This is not a “gym” focused on “membership” but a “mindset” focused on “results”.

   Over delivery = providing a comprehensive health, fitness and lifestyle assessment and then providing the client an individualized recommendation plan with a list of 3 suggested service programs they can consider to purchase. Either way, the take home message is provided — there is a need to improve everyday lifestyle habits.

   2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

   * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

   Well, I didn’t have $500 to spend, but I spent it anyway on this Earn 1K course. (Guess I need to earn 1,500K this month I believe this will get me to the core of various freelance opportunities that I want to maximize on. GOAL: make and choose the jobs I want to do that will allow me to travel every 3 months.

   * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

   I would spend it on a business coach. Opening up a physical location for a lifestyle wellness studio entails mental, physical and financial costs that I would like to stay prepared for. Learning while doing with a business coach would minimize the impact of making stupid mistakes.

   * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

   I would fly to the various successful cities that have implemented similar concepts and business models to mine. I would interview these experts and ideally, package this venture into an informational product for others. My dream is to make my business an international franchise…

   Reply
7. Alex says:

   January 31, 2010 at 12:42 am

   1. On rereading the example materials so far, I’m realizing that many of the marketing lessons applies to my “day job,” which involves a great deal of grant writing in support of scientific research.

   I’ve already taken a course on proposal writing, which taught a very client-oriented, “what do they need” approach, but I think the concepts behind “getting inside my clients’ heads” applies to interacting with program managers at Federal agencies as well.

   I think in this case “over delivery” centers on extensive interaction with the program managers, such that I’m providing information they need well before they ask. I’ve already acted on that this past week, handing over an informal white paper on a subject area the PM has been trying to talk to his peers about.

   2. In this context…

   I would spend $500 on an additional course of effective pitching and proposal writing.

   I would spend $1,000 on a trip to the D.C. area to speak with a series of PMs, to learn more in person about their needs.

   I would spend $5,000 on additional trips to the D.C. area, as well as on additional public speaking and presentation coursework.

   Reply
8. Tom Triebwasser says:

   January 30, 2010 at 8:59 pm

   1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it?

   I recently sent this email to Ramit:
   Ramit – Per your recent post, you indicated that you’re one of those people “who HATE Excel yet need detailed analyses for their business.” I am the “metrics maven” in my full-time job, and am responsible for generating daily and weekly program status reports for first-line and executive management. These reports are automatically generated based on macros and PivotTables that I created, so that we can spend more time analyzing the data to make the right decisions to bring the business forward, and less time manually collating data that becomes stale by the time people review it. Additionally, I introduced major efficiencies into the process: before I took over, the data was manually collected and took upwards of 1-2 hours to generate a metrics package; now, I have reduced the cycle time to less than five minutes.

   I would be thrilled to create a set of metrics for I Will Teach You To Be Rich. My value proposition is that I deliver automatically and professionally created metrics. A major discriminator is that I have the mindset of someone who understands the value of earning more by maximizing your talents and outsourcing the rest, and can offer insights and analyses when I send you charts. I gained this mindset as a reader of I Will Teach You To Be Rich for almost one year, a Boot Camp alumnus, and a soon-to-be-member of Earn1K. Just as with the recent interview with Cassie, you want to get the job done right so you can spend more time networking with future clients and partners. Of course, I would perform this work for free, so since you definitely have a need for this service, and since I am the resident expert in my area for generating quality metrics, what do you have to lose? Thanks.

   And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

   Problems with above email based on lessons learned from this post:
   Focused on me [the subject was "I am an Excel/Metrics Maven"] and what I had to deliver instead of listening to customer to find out his needs/wants/desires/fears.
   Might have been too hard of a sell – again, focused on me being the greatest thing since sliced bread.

   Instead, I will now send Ramit a sample metrics pack based on open source data that anyone can find on IWTYTBR. Then, I’ll engage Ramit to find out exactly what he needs to tailor the metrics. I’ll over-deliver by automating the system and learning about Ramit so that I can give him what he needs before he asks for it.
   2. If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

   Books (IWTYTBR, 4HWW, Brazen Careerist, Rich Dad/Poor Dad, etc)
   Online courses (Ramit’s Boot Camp)
   1-2 day in person seminars near home
   Would build confidence in myself and my abilities to succeed; some tactical steps and scripts, but mainly theoretical, general knowledge. Helps you streamline your finances to stop any spending on non-essential items so you can focus on growth.

   NOTE – I was ready to pay $500 site unseen for Ramit’s Boot Camp based on other courses already taken, so the $150 price was an absolute steal. If I only learned and implemented one tip, it would have paid for itself; I learned and implemented dozens.

   If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
   Immersion course. Already have fundamentals of confidence in one’s own abilities; this course takes it to the next level with detailed scripts and preliminary networking with others also just starting out. Helps you earn your first $1k-$10k on the side.

   If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
   Fly to a week-long retreat w/my wife and business partner (fortunately, the same person ). World renowned speakers in attendence to fine-tune execution of business. Would also serve as uber-networking event with others who have already retired from their day jobs to focus on their successful business full-time. This takes passive/freelance/business income to $100k-$1M per year.

   Reply
9. Kelly Whalen says:

   January 30, 2010 at 6:18 pm

   I have 2 side gigs I am working on, but I’ll focus on the one that has the most earning potential right now.

   1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

   I was going to deliver great content to my blog, and my freelance gigs. I am going to deliver really SPECIFIC articles that cover my niche, and create a “voice” that is recognizable no matter where you read my work.

   2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

   If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
   Assuming I don’t use the money to improve my savings, or pay off debt, I would do the following.

   I’d spend $400 on 40 extra hours of babysitting so I can focus on writing, and spend $100 on taking out some influential friends/acquaintances out for coffee.

   If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
   I would spend $1000 on the following: the above, $500 on attending events where people who are influential in my field are attending. (for instance train tickets to attend an event in NYC and money for buying drinks for someone I’d like to connect with)

   If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

   I would attend 2 conferences, and spend a large portion on babysitting and anything leftover would go to attending events, or taking people out for coffee/lunch/drinks.

   Reply
10. Katrina says:

    January 30, 2010 at 10:52 am

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client?

    One idea I had was to offer a series of informational products relating to specific kinds of genealogical records (say, Manitoban fire insurance plans). Now, I understand that to offer better value to customers I should also include printable forms to fill in when they are consulting the sources. (Extracting, transcribing, and abstracting sources are some of the most tedious tasks a genealogist faces when doing research.)

    Another idea was to create e-books detailing genealogical sources specific to a time and area. I realize now that I should include general historical information and local history information as well, to increase the customer’s ability to put flesh on the bones of their family story.

    2. * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you. **

    Membership with APG for credibility, and NEHGS to get their quarterly and more credibility. I would also join three or four local genealogy societies both for personal research reasons and for networking/exposure purposes.

    I need to be visibly involved in the genealogical community and possess other credibility indicators in order to be considered authoritative.

    I’d also buy a digital camera, to use as a portable document/photo scanner for my own research.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why? *

    The above, plus Earn1k to make sure I’m doing the right stuff at these networking events! I need to learn how to approach people, niche down my market, and fine-tune my offering to what they want and are willing to pay for.

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why? *

    The above, plus kill my credit card. It’s not huge, but it’d free up some monthly cash flow. If there is a bit leftover, I want to go to one or two relevant American genealogy conferences to do more learning and networking.

    Paying off my credit card has obvious, immediate, and ongoing benefits that I don’t think I need to explain. The conferences are helpful because Americans are by far the largest demographic of genealogists, especially “hobbyists” who are willing to pay money for informational products and instruction. It’s a great opportunity to survey my market, network with other professionals, gain visibility with customers, and sell my actual product(s).

    Reply
11. Natalie says:

    January 30, 2010 at 9:39 am

    If I could afford it I would pay for the following services:
    1) Personal trainer.
    2) Someone like Andrew to make meals for me for the week that meet my specific dietary requirements.
    3) Matchmaker.
    4) Stylist.
    5) Career coach.

    I’m having a really hard time narrowing down what I should do for freelance work. I’m a communications manager by day and so the logical freelance work seems to be writing, but I don’t really like it. I’d much rather be doing something like what I’ve mentioned above that helps people manage their lives to get what they want out of them. For example, I know some fabulous single people who are having a hard time finding dates, but really don’t want to be alone anymore and I would love to help them, I’ve done some research and there doesn’t seem to be a good quality relationship coach for 20-40 somethings in my city but I’m not sure how start something like this because I don’t have the network to hook them up. Or, I see my friends who are moms and have crazy schedules and are overwhelmed because they can’t keep their houses clean and organized for the life of them. I’d love to come in and help them develop organizational systems that would help them manage the clutter and simplify their lives, but the people I know are strapped for cash and I’m not sure I’m qualified to help them.

    Reply
12. Suzie says:

    January 29, 2010 at 11:03 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    Well, I already deliver, I build (and update) websites for freelancers, and businesses.

    To over-deliver, I would streamline every process, and create step-by-step guides. My main goal is to get people self-sufficient, so that they can handle all the updates to the sites themselves. So creating personalised PDF manuals to handle all their updates would be a start, along with provided free one-to-one training on the system I have set up for them (this will have to wait until I have learned to drive!)

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    – I’m already spending at least this much on driving lessons. Being mobile – being able to meet clients face-to-face without having to worry about buses or worse, getting them to pick me up! – is really important now.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    – Definitely modular college courses, I want to improve my skill set and learn new skills in web-design. So most likely cutting edge courses that deal with new web dev languages and technology.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    – I would spend half on going to courses and conferences aimed at designers, and the other half on courses and conferences aimed at business owners. The later would be both for improving my business, and for finding clients.

    Reply
13. Julie says:

    January 29, 2010 at 5:11 pm

    How I would deliver to my client:

    I’m a quilt artist who is looking to expand upon pre existing business. I planned to research companies I could collaborate with to design a line of quilts for beds to be sold through their store. I would collect the e mail addresses of buyers and e mail them a pitch that includes pictures of my work.

    How I would over – deliver:

    I would go ahead and come up with a few design ideas specifically geared towards each company I am pitching to. I would then create a nice visual presentation and embed it into the e mail so they dont have to click to open or download any attachments.

    What I would spend $500 on:

    I would take a course on PR and Marketing. I need help drafting professional e mails and following up with pre existing customers.

    What I would spend $1000 on:

    I would hire an agent to do PR for me. I could use someone with contact information that I cant get a hold of by calling up and asking for it.

    What I spend $5,000 on:

    I would get a really nice computer with a big screen & a nice big studio. Right now I work off a small mac and it inhibits my design capabilities. This would allow me to create more professional designs & presentations more quickly and efficiently. A larger studio space would allow me to create bigger projects, employ another person and provide a space to teach workshops & impress galleries and clients who come for studio visits.

    Reply
14. Alf says:

    January 29, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    Herro Ramit!

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    Answer: I was going to sell business cards at the local airport to those out-of-towners who forgot theirs or don’t have any. I’d just rent a booth space, set up a sign, and bring my own computer and printer, and business card stock. If I were to over-deliver…I would mention the service instead in one of those airplane publications so that it will force my market to be conscious about whether or not they have business cards. If they call my number or email me, I’ll have business cards for them at the airport before the land. Your cards in your hands, instantly.

    2. If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    Answer: $500 would be spent on self image, because what I see in the mirror should be just as important as how I think about myself; $1000 on a 1-on-1 with Ramit so that I can learn to be just as devastating as an Indian in business; and $5000 on language classes around the world (Japan, Germany, Russia, France, Argentina) so that I can build up my language repertoire and communicate with more of my market.

    Reply
15. Patrick Domingo says:

    January 29, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.
    I was thinking of becoming a freelance photographer tailored to fashion designers who want to market their own line of clothing and can actually pay for quality(as soon as I gain enough experience) OR bloggers/entrepreneurs who need pictures for their blog/service/whatever that they can’t find in stock photos. I would deliver the fashion designers through means of having them ship me their clothes and me doing everything (finding model, make up artist etc) and making their clothes look nice. For bloggers/entrepreneurs, give me the concept/service associated with it, and we can talk it over and make it work. If I were going to over-deliver, I would try and make it easier and remove them from the process of finding photos and uploading it to their website and integrating it into wherever they need the pictures. I’ll create a mock of the pages in their website and provide them with the web page so they can simply upload it, or I can do it for them.
    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.
    • If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
    I would purchase marketing books and take a course in psychology and human behavior. I would want to get inside my customer’s head as much and as thoroughly as possible.
    • If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    I would spend it on a course for marketing and a course that would help me run my business as smoothly as possible because I want to be able to eject myself out of the day to day tasks of running my business so I can free up my time.
    • If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    I would spend it on the above and a couple of more courses in improving my photography skills and take a couple of workshops and find mentors in the industry that I am in and learn as much as I can in the industry. I want to do this because I think a mentor would definitely help me and also connections in the industry wouldn’t hurt at all.

    Reply
16. Peter says:

    January 29, 2010 at 11:05 am

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    One of my ideas was to help individuals or companies identify how their environment is producing negative outcomes and help them reshape to have similar positive responses to their environment. (confusing huh?) Basically people often underestimate the affect of their surrounding environment, physical and bureaucratically, on the results they get. But with this idea and other ideas I have I haven’t taken it to the next level and really thought about what the customer would buy. I tend to focus on what people need more than what they will buy. If I were to pursue this idea I would first need to refine my niche and then find clients and offer them specific solutions.
    Just off the top of my head if I focused on small to medium companies that had high turnover. I could research the company before our first meeting and present 3 ideas with estimated costs and productivity boosts attached. I would already be familiar with and have research on common problem areas such as lack of employee freedom, broken employee feedback systems, improper use of checklists and procedures, poor physical layout of office space, etc.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    Mostly books and probably an online course or local conference.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    Same as above, but would be sure to make a live conference or get one on one time with blogger or business professional I respected.

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I would start a business. I would form and LLC get some books and legal advice and spend some money to attended places where I could network and market.

    Reply
17. Mark says:

    January 29, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Ramit,
    Thanks for all the postings. You provide an extremely intuitive financial service and keep it fresh.

    But I don’t want to earn money on the side, I want to start a 2 new businesses and have two distinctive plans.
    Plan 1- Construction Firm- This one will be hard but it is what I have been doing the last 4 years and really enjoy it. I have already started the process and will be launching the firm soon.
    Plan 2- Health, Fitness, and Nutrition for the youth market. I am still developing the plan and don’t want to give the complete idea out. So it will be web base login format and it will provide several services for a young “skater” to track his fitness, provide nutrition, provide fitness trainers, local school associations/club/sports, local skate parks, etc.

    2. If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    Plan 1- Tools and Basic Business Expenses
    Plan 2- Networking Lunches, Internet Mags and Books

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    Plan 1- Associate with Builder Network Groups, gain a higher LEED cert.
    Plan 2- Internet Education Classes (Building, designing, SEO, etc) and

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    Plan 1- Add an PM with experience and market my business to gain a financial partner
    Plan 2- Get a designer to partner in the project and market my business to gain a financial partner

    Reply
18. Mazarine says:

    January 29, 2010 at 10:00 am

    Hi Ramit!

    I was going to make this standard proposal for this guy who contacted me about doing some consulting work (helping him find nonprofits to give a benefit performance of his Mark Twain show to), but since reading your Earn1K course yesterday, I had a new tack. This is what I wrote.

    ——————————————————————————————————-
    Hi Alan!

    Just picture it! A crowd of 800 people talking, the lights dim, and out comes MARK TWAIN! For the Children’s Cancer Society Gala! People laugh, people cry, people open their wallets and give so that more children will live. The Development Director is wringing your hand with tears in her eyes. “Thank you for making our cause so real! We’ve raised more with this event than we’ve raised in 3 years!” When the donors go home, they say, “What a memorable event. And what a wonderful entertainer. I am so glad I gave to the Children’s Cancer Society tonight. I hope they have him back again next year!”

    Based on our conversation today, what I understand is that you want to tour and get more money, and more exposure for your Mark Twain’s Last Stand show, while helping nonprofit causes at the same time.

    You need: More audience members, More money, National exposure for your show, and ongoing Mark Twain fundraising events. So you’ve decided to target nonprofits who want to hold turnkey fundraisers.

    Even in these economic times, people will go to fundraisers. They want to support causes. In order to get to these nonprofits, you need to market your show to nonprofits, which includes:

    1.Introductions to nonprofits that need money, who would be interested in your show.
    2.Proposals tailored to specific nonprofit niche fields (arts nonprofits, theater nonprofits, literary nonprofits for example)
    3.Connections to Development Directors and Executive Directors of Nonprofits

    Nonprofits need:
    1.Money
    2.Successful events without lots of work,
    3.Exposure for their brand,
    4.A “fit” between what their brand is and what you offer, AND
    5.An approach that speaks their language.

    Together, we can offer wildly successful fundraising event solutions!

    This is why I can help you. I have 6 years of experience working in fundraising. I put on many many different kinds of events, and raised over half a million with fundraising events in the last three years. I know the language of Development and Executive Directors. I know how stressful events are for them to put on. I know the squeeze that nonprofits are feeling right now, and how they will do ANYTHING to make more money for their nonprofit, ESPECIALLY if they don’t have to do much work. And I know what a boon it can be to an event to have the right entertainment, and the right MC. I can help nonprofit fundraisers see your show for the golden opportunity that it is.

    Here are my questions for you.

    How many times have you done this before?
    How much money do you usually help people make with nonprofit fundraising events?
    How much do you get paid?
    How many sponsorships do you generally get?
    How much are your online ticket transaction fees?
    These are the things that nonprofits are going to want to know, and this will help us make the case that they should profit from your event.

    Here’s what I can offer you.

    Number of Hours My rate Total
    Research for 10 strong nonprofit prospects that will be interested in Mark Twain’s Last Stand.
    5
    $60/hr
    $300.00

    Ten tailored proposals-clear, engaging writing with a link to the nonprofit’s mission and brand, cost breakdowns, your headshot, testimonials from customers, and anything else you want to include.
    10
    $60/hr
    $600.00

    Ten phone introductions and follow-ups to nonprofits that will care who you are and what you offer.
    10
    $60/hr
    $600.00

    A feature in my successful fundraising blog, with over 50,000 hits per month, exposing your business to hundreds of targeted new potential customers.
    N/A
    $250.00
    $250.00

    TOTAL
    payable half up front, half upon completion of the project
    25
    $1,750.00

    And I can also offer ongoing support, should you need it, at an agreed upon rate.

    Just think-only $1,750 for potentially tens of thousands of dollars for you in income, hundreds of thousands for nonprofits, and literally thousands of people watching your Mark Twain’s Last Stand Show! Not to mention the advertising boost of 50,000 people viewing my trusted fundraising advice and wanting to hire you! What do you say?

    Looking forward to hearing from you,

    Mazarine
    ———————————————————————
    I would pay $500 for a course that would teach me to get $1K per month. And I would work hard to make sure that $1K turned into $5K as soon as possible.

    Reply
19. Chris Clark says:

    January 29, 2010 at 8:51 am

    My freelance target has been to approach directors and executives of companies just past the start-up phase who are looking to build or rebuild their marketing and analytics departments.

    My freelance idea is organize data into a manageable framework that decision makers can use to make business decisions.

    1.) I am going to now OVER-DELIVER by establishing KPI’s and web-based dashboards. It’s one thing (and actually a quite difficult thing) to organize data but if you can show what you’ve done, you have substantially increased your sticker price.

    If I had to invest $500 in myself:

    I would take a self-paced PHP class. I know Berkeley Extension offers one for $600. My web programming skills are a hack at best and now realizing that this is essential to my idea it’s time to get on it.

    If I had to invest $1,000 in myself:

    Probably two self-paced courses. Beginner and advanced.

    If I had to invest $5,000 in myself:

    I would start with the two self-paced courses and then I might quit my job to free up time for networking and creating a portfolio. If I leaved lean I could probably live off the $4k for just over 2 months.

    Reply
20. Ryan Solverson says:

    January 29, 2010 at 7:47 am

    how would I spend $500? $1000, or $5000?
    I would spend some on this course, a sales course that would help me convey my ideas better to customers, hire a programmer for web design and find a way or (pay) for good networking ie.talk to other entrepreneurs (I need interaction with other people in the field).

    A little background: Flying is my passion. I am a corporate pilot/flight instructor that runs a flight training business and manages a airport. I am constantly looking for more leads. I just haven’t figured out a good way to get into the heads of new customers.
    My ideas: Provide a website that people can exchange information on how to save money flight training. Provide tips and methods on how to save money. Address psyc issues on practical tests. Provide good advice on where to flight train and mentor new pilots.

    Provide a website that only pilots can freelance there non flying skills while sitting at a hotel or airport. If they have a laptop, they can make some extra money on the side.

    Reply
21. Kunal says:

    January 29, 2010 at 2:59 am

    Ramit,
    I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now.

    The only passion in my life is Cricket. I love playing the game and therefore want to do something that involves the game. Sports commentary was an option, but I don’t qualify as one because they are looking at ex-cricketers for their better insight of the game. Sports administration is another option, something that I’m capable of doing. Being a software engineer, I’m not left with much time on the side, and therefore have zero oppurtunity to work with people in the sports industry. Twitter has however made helped me create a bridge, a network into talking to people who infulence the game of Cricket in India.

    You must have heard about Mr. Lalit Modi and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Just to brief other fans, The IPL is a brain child of Mr. Lalit Modi, it invites cricketers from foreign teams to participate in a domestic Indian league. Instead of the players choosing the team they want to play for, they are auctioned every 3 years to the franchises, with base caps ranging from $100,000 to $750,000 per year.

    Getting back to the point i was making, Mr Modi is on Twitter and actively talking to the fans. This was my oppurtunity to make a pitch to work with him. Like everyone else, I made the obvious mistake. I concentrated on telling him how passionate I was and how lucky would i be to work with him.. He didn’t reply! Obviously! Just about time, Charlies book “recession proof graduate” was out. I learnt how doing free work can land one into a dream job. I was learning, I was learning how to write emails that focussed on adressing the problem that the customer was having and how I could help him solve that, for free! I gave it a shot, Made the mistake again.. Never did background research on it and ended up talking about something that he was already happy about.

    Another twitter friend of mine howver has been able to convince MR. Modi into taking him to help him establish a better Digital marketing platform to have better interaction with the fans. How was he able to do that? He followed exactly what u had to say! He figured that ‘IPL’ the official twitter handle wasn’t really active and coupling tht with 10 other suggestions he was able to flatter the man and win his dream job.

    I don’t know if there is a takeaway for me as a cricket fan from some of the courses, be it 500, 1000 or 10000. It’s about learning, learning to do things the right way. Thanks to your articles, I’m able to self motivate myself into learning more and practising it better to win, to succeed!

    Reply
22. Alex says:

    January 28, 2010 at 11:31 pm

    1. My original freelance idea pitch was “I want to provide scientific story advising to television programs.” As this is a nascent idea, I’ve just started talking to other scientists I know who are doing this, or have done it in the past, with an eye toward asking them how they became involved. Essentially, I know people do this, and wanted to be in on it.

    Following my reading of the client-focused example above, as well as conversation on the topic with a friend who is also following the course, I’ve reconsidered my approach. Rather than target established programs, I should be pursuing opportunities in the early development stages. My pitch is that science advising brings verisimilitude, which keeps the audience engaged and keeps the show from failing. Having an adviser “on staff” also lends credibility during the stages of pitching and funding the program itself.

    I believe I still need to follow up on my acquaintances who have done this work previously, as well as seek advice from the media contact experts in professional societies of which I am a member.

    2. $500 on self improvement — Attend a television industry conference, and take a few writers, producers, or agents out to lunch or dinner.

    $1,000 on self improvement — Take a course on television writing, to improve my ability to make suggestions that consistently add value to my client’s production

    $5,000 on self improvement — Split this spending across a course in concise speaking and presentation, attendance at additional conferences in the television writing industry, additional meetings with professionals in the industry, and additional memberships that increase my network of contacts

    Reply
23. Aireeee says:

    January 28, 2010 at 11:06 pm

    Number 1: You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    **IDEA** I just got my idea listening to the podcast when you asked for us to think for ourselves what type of things we would personally pay for. I would pay for someone to help me overcome my resistance or psychological barriers – let’s call it “Get It Done Coach”. (Even though it would cost money, the end result is that the coach will help me achieve things I would have put off for infinity because of some fear and even earn me more money in return or life satisfaction.)
    **DELIVERY** There’s weekly meetings to discuss what’s upcoming for the week as to what to get accomplished, bounce ideas on how to accomplish those, and a review on what’s been accomplished, and then another look at how we want the future to be like. Then throughout the week set up “checkups” to see the progress of client. So coming up with creative ideas on how to accomplish their goals is also offered here.
    **OVER DELIVERY** To over deliver I’d like to be available by phone, text, email for last minute fear-assuaging session before they go and do what they are supposed to do as lined in the week’s discussion. Also to use different tactics like yelling! and showing tough love, going through scripts with them as practice for their meetings or talks, etc. Even meet them in person to discuss further. Over-deliver by taking detailed notes of what they have accomplished with my help so that I can remind them and they can be inspired by how much they have achieved. Over-deliver by helping to give access to my own network. Over-deliver by giving mini-celebration for completing every major tasks or something.

    Number 2: For self improvement
    $500 – Ramit’s Earn1K course … perhaps. Because it would get me more knowledgeable on being an entrepreneur and help me get into the earning more mentality while getting common sense knocked into me by Ramit and his crew.
    $1000 – Collagen injection! Joking. Perhaps I’ll take $449 to pay for a round-trip ticket to visit my favorite author at one of her speaking engagements and take her out to lunch or dinner (she’s already agree, kinda) and pick her brain on how she writes, how I can be a better writer, gather ideas, ask her how she got into her field and success, etc. The $550 will be spent on Reiki III attunement because I want to learn more in the field and be able to teach/offer it to others – even as a small side business. The last $1 goes towards a pack of Trident gum to help clean my teeth after meals.
    $5,000 – The first $3000 goes towards airfare and workshop cost to attend B. Sher’s Scanner retreat in France because she can help me determine how I can fit all my interests into my life in a successful way and teach me about getting over resistance. The other $2,000 is to be spent on psych books like The Tipping Point and money to support myself as I beg and then get a small stint to work for free while studying under Ramit (to figure out how he ticks), and support myself as I hang around and learn from dance companies because I have my own project revolving around a dance production.

    Reply
24. Bianca says:

    January 28, 2010 at 11:01 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    - My idea is a personal English accent tutoring service to young to middle-aged foreign professionals currently living in Silicon Valley who are fluent in English but are having trouble losing their foreign accent. I pitched myself as a one-on-one speaking partner available by the hour.
    Now I realize that I can tailor my service to specific accents and people (namely late 20s/early 30s immigrants from overseas English-speaking tech centers like Manila and Bangalore) and offer online help that enhances, rather than competes with, free and for-pay language-learning sites such as Livemocha and RosettaStone– I could even set up an additional Skype account service to tutor people who can’t meet me in person.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    - First off, I’d probably take a formal driving class so I could have more access to my potential clients. It’s been hard learning to drive from sporadic lessons with friends and family, and living in the Bay Area without a driver’s license is a Pain. In. The. Butt.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    - I would take a class to hone my teaching skills, then a TESOL or ASHA speech-language pathology classes specifically focused on grammar improvement and accent reduction. I took a class on teaching English in college, but more specific training would be valuable to refine my teaching method, plus the knowledge would help me build confidence in my skills.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    - I would take classes in or hire consultants for marketing and business (hello, Ramit!) to get a better feel for pitching my business and managing it once I get enough clients (I’m assuming that I have enough of them already if I have $5K). Luckily my older sister does PR, so I bet she could take care of my website and client relations if I bribed her.
    Then I would probably use the rest of that money to party with a bunch of fresh-of-the-boat twentysomething Indians. Nothing like a drink or two to really get into your customers’ heads.

    Reply
25. Craig A Gonzales says:

    January 28, 2010 at 10:33 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    My target: Thai high school and University students.
    My service: Tutor high schools students for standardized test preparation, general writing, and college admissions. Conduct research and build presentations for University business students.
    My delivery: I currently have 1 tutorial student that meets with me once per week; I make ~120$ per month off of her. I also have a small group (3 students), but for a short term (30 hour) course. I will make ~1,700 in February for the three students. I was lucky to get the three students, now I need to know how to repeat it and make it happen in March, April . . .

    A friend of mine owns a real estate brokerage firm; he lets me use his office to tutor my students. I have been working with the once per week student for two months. She is the one who recommended the 3 students.

    I need to know the best way to increase her word of mouth; I also need to know the best way to reach other students.

    I have been doing free research and presentation creation for local MBA students (lazy MBA students) in order to build my process and assess how long it will take me for each type of project. They have all received A’s, and most importantly, they have all enjoyed their free time. I haven’t completely figured out how to find University students to pay me for helping them with their research.

    Deliver my service:

    Getting to the students — Word of mouth, website, do well at my day job – recruit from there.

    Superstar way to get to students — Get to their parents (?), join student groups, befriend a few key players and work for their group.

    What I have figured out: How to make 1,000$ in a month (but only once!)
    What I need help with / What I have not figured out:
    How to continue to make 1,000$ per month. How to reach Thai students more effectively.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
    I would buy Kaufman’s Personal MBA course (or your course if it is priced in that range.) I would enjoy the networking and communication provided by the course.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    I’d pay for private Thai lessons. I would be able to make a much better impression on my Thai students’ parents if I was fluent at Thai. Spending the money and taking the time to learn would increase my rapport with my clients.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    I’d pay off my student loans. If I could get rid of my debt in one fail swoop, I would be a very happy person.

    Ramit – I hope to get your insight on this. If an international tutoring/research program is interesting, or you think I should niche even more (only tutoring or only research), I’d be really curious to know why.

    Reply
26. Rob says:

    January 28, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    I forgot . . .

    if you can create a compelling case of what sets you apart from the other courses I’ve already taken that are similar to Earn1K, (product launch formula and project mojave-which I ended early b/c I wasn’t convinced of the value), then my response would be:

    how would I spend $500? $1000, or $5000?
    On Earn1K, because you’re absolutely right about the importance of investing in yourself.

    I’ve already spent over $2K on these other courses – and I don’t have a lot of money. But I want to know that I’m going to get the value out of it.

    Reply
27. Rob says:

    January 28, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    OK – so there’s an obvious reason why I’d really like you to select me as one of your six. You’re very successful, someone I look to for advice on your site, I’ve been following you for a long time, I bought your book early (thanks for those bonuses, by the way). And, when I emailed you a few weeks ago about a design course that I teach, you responded.

    So far, the examples you’ve provided for all of us are ways to get into your head, and to sell to you. What about taking on a case study of someone who’s trying to sell to a different market and a different kind of person? Your techniques should be applicable to other markets, but you don’t have a way to demonstrate that. I can do that for you!

    I can help you prove that the advice you give here is not limited to your niche. And . . . it’s pretty easy. I’m all set up with a website, I have a market that I’m just starting out with and you can show that by changing what I’m currently doing can be “blown out of the park” with the tips that you want to demonstrate to all of us. That’s a great opportunity.

    I’m the same Rob that has http://www.smartercontext.com – I’ve already left you access to my site, a sample letter that’s going out at 11am tomorrow to my list and what survey they will all receive.

    here is the link to that survey again:
    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LDGN3R7

    I even updated the survey to use some of the questions you asked us in the survey we were all sent to!

    I’m trying to make this irresistable for you. How am I doing?

    Reply
28. Attila says:

    January 28, 2010 at 9:39 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    1. Idea, delivery and over-delivery:
    Idea:
    Kind of bummed these days. I am thinking to start a photography company, but so far into this course I am getting discouraged. Getting into my customer heads means to see that they really don’t want a service like this. They have tools (digital cameras are cheap, printing at Walgreens is cheap) so what is the need really…

    Delivery:
    was thinking to make a website (in works) with portofolio and prices to bring potential clients.

    Over-delivery: now I am thinking that maybe I should go out to the streets and offer free portraits for select people cruising (in a walkable neighborhood, Saturday-Sunday afternoon when people are out). A quick click, minute or two, get their address, send them a nice print with maybe a brochure of my offering, company.

    $500 on self improvement:
    - posing and lighting tehniques, photography books.
    Why? That is an area I need to grow.

    $1000:
    - same as above and maybe a business course. I have a feeling your courses would be out of range so maybe Escape From Cubicle Nation, Pamela Slim’s group coaching…
    Why? I am fairly convinced my photography knowledge is enough for the start. I do need to learn more about creating the business, marketing and selling, connecting with people.

    $5000:
    - this might be enough to sign on for your earn1k course. I am pretty much convinced it would provide value, I am not too sure I can convince my wife about it with our current financial situation. If it were additional/extra money, maybe I would not need to convince her.

    Reply
29. Eric says:

    January 28, 2010 at 9:06 pm

    Ramit, great point. I’ll keep that in mind in the future. Obviously I know you put a lot of effort into your projects, but I didn’t think about it like that.

    Of course, my response is that Scrooge Strategy should be trying to help as many people as possible. (Which is accomplished by generating more conversions and more profit!)

    Ultimately, I think you’d want to test two (or more) landing pages and let your customers decide which version they prefer by measuring their conversions.

    Always be testing!

    Reply
30. Anh says:

    January 28, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    My idea is to start be a college admissions consultant on the side. My action plan was vague and amorphous prior to reading this. I have a better understanding now.

    The advantages of having a private admissions consultant:
    - Saves families time from hunting down information about the admissions process
    - Having your own publicist who is dedicated, knowledgeable and creative in marketing you to colleges
    - The personal, face-to-face, tailored-to-your-need service

    How I will over-deliver, aka my “sizzle”:
    I’ve been reading a lot about Myers-Briggs Personality Types and I’ve been practicing on how to tell a person’s type by just talking to them. I will offer a three-session free trial, where I will get to know the client. At the end of the trial I will present what I have learned to the parents and the client. I will highlight strengths and tendencies in the client’s personality. This obviously be information that are not previously told to me. For example, people who are Intuitives are generally good at standardize tests. People with Intuitives and Thinking (NT) might be good engineers or scientists. This information helps me get inside the client’s head to understand their values, strengths preferences, which will be useful to make the best decision for the client. I want to blow their minds that I actually know so much about the client after limited interaction. Imagine what I can do with more time!

    What I would do with $500?
    I am very interested in personal development, both myself and others. I would buy a bunch of books in psychology and how it can be applied in real life situations. Additionally, I would get the Microexpressions Training program which trains you to recognize the little facial movements and what they mean.

    $5000
    I would use this money to pay for a course on how to pick up women with Mystery, the pickup artist. Not only will this be fun, this will teach me skills such as persuasion and how to get the most of social situations.

    Reply
31. Elizabeth says:

    January 28, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    I was going to deliver it to my client by pitching my idea straight to them by taking their needs (Based on prior conversations from networking events) and dovetailing outcomes.

    Example: Here’s a follow up letter I sent last night after meeting someone at a networking event:

    “XXXX,

    It was a pleasure to meet you at the Event Radiance networking event tonight! I had a great time talking to you and trying that juice of yours! I even checked out your website, and was wondering if you have a Facebook page for your health juice business? I’d love to direct some of my Facebook friends your way, and we could even partner up to create content — next time you’re booked for a health juice party, book me to do some event photography (I could do a couple events for free to start!) and you could post the photos on your Facebook page with a link back to my photography page. Distributing the link so people could check out photos of themselves at the party (people love to see themselves in pictures!) would also drive more traffic to your site.

    Let me know what you think, and don’t forget to keep in touch! I hope to see you at the next networking event!
    –Elizabeth”

    Now, instead, I know to make specific promises and really drive to OVERDELIVER for her needs:

    “XXXX,
    Thanks for taking the time to talk to me tonight at the Event Radiance event; I really enjoyed talking to you, especially about your health juice business.

    One thing you said stood out in my mind — that this is an untapped market that you’re really hoping to break into and hold onto since other companies haven’t gotten a foothold in here and both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have only recently set up shop. I could help you expand your market share and really grab hold with some kick ass photography of your health juice parties cross-marketed between our Facebook pages.

    Initially, I’ll go with you at no cost to you or your clients when you do juice-tastings and get photos of the event as it goes on during the night. I’ll upload them to my “Recent Events!” page when I’m finished post production, usually within 48 hours, and send you copies for your own page. Once the pages are up, we will reference each other’s sites on our various social networking sites including Twitter and Facebook, driving traffic from our two social networks to the other’s site, which will result in doubled exposure since our networks do not overlap.

    After three months, if you’re seeing results and are interested in continuing this working relationship, we can negotiate my fee for each party I attend.

    I’ll email you in a week to follow up and see if you think this would be a good fit for our two businesses.

    –Elizabeth”

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it?
    A course in photography or photoshop so I could get the most up-to-date skill set available, which would increase my marketability.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on?
    I’d register TODAY for the PhotoExpo in New York in 2010, including buying the higher tiered membership so I can get into the Keynote addresses and networking parties, as well as get entrance into a few hands-on demonstrations and dinners with professionals in my field.

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on?
    New equipment! I know it doesn’t sound like self-improvement, but I’m working with a 2006 MacBook and a Nikon D2 right now, as well as an old (but reliable) lighting rig and having newer equipment — including an upgrade to Lightroom 2 and CS4 — would really allow me to streamline my workflow. I’d also get some classes at the Mac store to help me learn Quicksilver (if possible), Automator, and other time-saving apps.

    Reply
32. Jeff Tong says:

    January 28, 2010 at 8:17 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    Delivery – Black Tie, Event, Restaurant Photography. I already know a few events in the area. I can break in by offering to take pictures for free at first. I would take pictures that clients will love and treasure. Deliver pictures immediately.

    Over Deliver – Offer to deliver digital photos by person via flash drive and even print framed works. I would sit down with clients after pictures are taken and discuss what went right and what could be improved.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    I would spend $500 on learning courses. I’ve already invested in books, event registration fees, and practice.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    Buying a better lens for my camera. Many times this can offset the mistakes made by overuse of flash in dim lit photography.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    Buying additional better lens, since sometimes $1000 isn’t quite enough. Additionally, take potential clients out for lunch to figure out the demands of the market. Also psychologically, lunch would mean reciprocity.

    Reply
33. Johnny says:

    January 28, 2010 at 7:42 pm

    (It looks like url is required to post a comment here even though it says it is).

    Reply
34. Johnny says:

    January 28, 2010 at 7:41 pm

    My idea is to create custom wedding websites for young couples who want a cool site for friends and family but don’t like generic websites from places like TheKnot.com. (I’m considering niching it down further but haven’t 100% figured out to whom until I do some preliminary market testing)

    1.
    My original idea of delivering was I would email the couple to get ideas, I would create the website, and then I’d show it to them and give them access to it and be done with it.

    To overdeliver, I would offer to meet the clients in person to brainstorm ideas / show them completed site if they were interested. If they were too busy / didn’t want to see me, I would create a video to show them all the features I included and go over how they can / ask me to update the site.

    I would also follow up with the clients as they got closer to / after the wedding to check on how they’re doing (since weddings can be stressful) and to offer to add close-to-wedding and post-wedding features.

    2.
    $500 – I would take a design course (haven’t looked into best ones yet, but I’m talking with a friend of mine who knows this stuff better than I do).
    $1000 – I would buy Adobe CS4 Web Standard to get better tools to work with and create good content.
    $5000 – I would buy a nicer Adobe CS4 package, probably the Production Premium for $1700. I would buy a new laptop to help me work more quickly and to use to show off the final product.

    Reply
35. Ramit Sethi says:

    January 28, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    Eric, good stuff. The only suggestion I would make is to ask why my site looks the way it does before jumping into the suggestions. All of those choices (except a couple very good points I hadn’t thought about) are for a reason.

    They probably aren’t all right…but I have consciously made them for a reason. So you should try to figure out why from future potential clients.

    Reply
36. Jessica O. says:

    January 28, 2010 at 6:22 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    My freelance idea is to provide career coaching services to law students who are looking for jobs upon graduation. Originally, I was going to deliver my service by selling myself. I have written a book on the topic called The Insider’s Guide to Getting a Big Firm Job: What Every Law Student Should Know About Interviewing, and I have been interviewing law students for years. I was also going to show students that they need this service as the competition for the best legal jobs increases each year.

    After reading today’s lesson, I think my delivery should be based on addressing the students’ dreams for their future job, their anxiety about how little time they have to spend on the job search, and their fears of the fact that they have no idea what needs to be done to get the job. The student I am marketing to has worked hard to get into the best law school he/she could and fantasizes about getting fantastic grades and getting the job of his choice. Sure, the student could spend hours of his precious time reading numerous books and websites about how to get a job. He could then try to map out a plan on what it would take to get that ideal job. But with the tremendous work-load he has already, the student could really use a coach to give him all of this information from the outset and then work with him and hold him accountable for accomplishing his career goals. I will put the student ahead of the competition by demystifying the job search process, helping to map out a plan and goals and then working with the student every week on reaching those goals.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    I would buy an iPhone and pay for the monthly service for two months – until my business is up and running. This would give me a personal organizational system (unrelated to my outlook calendar at work) as well as immediate access to my clients/ potential clients during the day.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I would take two French classes at UCLA extension. My goal is to live in Paris for several years. Part of my motivation in starting this freelancing job is to start a business where I can work anywhere in the world. Taking French classes would remind me of one of my primary goals in developing the business and would be great motivation.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    On tuition at the Hoffman Institute. http://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/about/who-we-are.html I had a life coach last year who recommended this for anyone who wants to determine what beliefs and ways of thinking are holding them back from reaching their personal and/or professional goals. I would love to go through their week-long program so that I could learn more about myself and move to the next level with my professional goals.

    Reply
37. Steven M says:

    January 28, 2010 at 6:15 pm

    1. My idea is focused around website RE-development for 1-10 employee service firms. My core offering is examining a website and identify how to increase leads. But a better position is to completely manage the website, and charge per incremental lead. This distinguishes me from other developers who aren’t focused on ROI, lowers the risk for the firm, and increases how much I can charge.

    2. Given $500, I would buy a list of potential customers and send them an online survey to understand their pain points. If I could get the list inexpensively, I would propose the prospects can vote for a charity to give the remaining money.

    Given $1000, I would host a dinner for prospects in the area, where they could discuss their websites with non-competitive peers and work to improve them. With any luck, I would receive a few requests for personal work.

    Given $5k, I would administer a survey to my potential customers, AND their prospects, and deliver the results to my potential customers with an offer of free consulting.

    Reply
38. Jenn says:

    January 28, 2010 at 6:06 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    I really got stuck on this one. I looked at the time and cost involved in our side business (home cooked dog food) and realize they are high. Very high. But it is a passion of mine, and a product I sincerely believe in as making a difference for people who love their dogs (Ramit not included;)

    I believe the product itself over-delivers. There is nothing locally here that is a fresh food product for pets that is also compliant with industry standards for pet food (AAFCO and NRC). However, even though the product over-delivers, I think the place I can make a real difference is in customer service. My clients trust me, and I’ve worked hard to earn that trust. I will continue to show my sincere care for the best interest of their pets, and continue to offer gentle guidance (client education) on making better choices in regards to nutrition.

    This is an emotional choice for many people, so having spent four years learning how to hold the conversation with a new client makes all the difference. You must be careful not to offend, while at the same time ensure they grasp that there is new information they should consider.

    The physical delivery of the product will be from our existing small business, and I hope to one day take this full time and open a retail shop.

    2.If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    Here I keep wanting to say I’d invest in the equipment that would make our production faster, or assistance with website and graphic design, etc. That would be business improvement, not self improvement.

    I previously spent just over $500 on books that are industry specific that taught me a great deal about how nutrients are used by the body, and am able to share that knowledge with clients (as well as use it to improve upon our product).

    • If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    If I had to spend that kind of money on self improvement it would be towards a business coach. Why? I find that I have a lot of ideas that I think are great, but can’t pull them all together to make them a nice, useful end result. Hopefully a business coach could help me sort through all the ‘to-do’ lists and focus on what is really important to further the business.

    • If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    If I had to spend $5k on self improvement I may require hospitalization after suffering a heart attack. In light of the exercise though: I would spend it on a mentor. I think a mentor could help me focus in on the useful ideas, weed out the extraneous things I sometimes spend time on, offer real world knowledge that I don’t have and help me avoid errors small business people make on their journey.

    Reply
39. Nimi says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:51 pm

    1. My freelance idea is to deliver marketing services to businesses whose owners have no idea about the first thing about marketing and do not have the time to do it themselves. I was going to focus on new restaurants without websites in the city where i live. I was going to approach the potential restaurant and try to solve their problem of not having enough customers (or BIS – bums in seats) by creating a website to generate more awareness. Now i realise that i would have to over deliver by looking more deeply at the cause of the restaurant’s lack of customers. I would need to do detailed research on the restaurant upfront. I’d read every online review and compile a chart that outlines why customers do not like the place and areas that can be improved. Then i would help the restaurant make those changes and help them re-launch the restaurant with key online restaurant review bloggers there. That would be in addition to simply helping them create a website.

    2.
    ■If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    I would invest in some great clothes – appearance is very important when making a sale in person.

    ■If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I would take a course on negotiation which i know is one of my weaknesses.

    ■If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I would hire a consultant to provide me with coaching on how to improve my business.

    Reply
40. Christine Rhee says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    1. Freelance idea: 1) Illustration via magazines, books, comics, games, etc. 2) Fine art through galleries, selling prints and commissions.

    Original delivery plan: Make a list of art directors, galleries, contests that would be a good fit and submit, submit, submit while creating new art, updating portfolio (and online portfolio) and selling prints via Etsy/storefront on personal website. Continue creating new art and update portfolio and online store constantly. Send promotional postcards of new art on a quarterly basis.

    Over-delivery plan: Honestly, not too different, but focus my presentation on the needs of targeted art director rather than the value of my artwork by creating portfolios tailored to the needs of each art director/publisher/gallery. If they want hard copies, a professionally printed, customized portfolio that showcases a sophisticated aesthetic sense as well as stunning imagery contained within. Accompanying the submissions is an artist introduction/statement that emphasizes how my artwork is a good fit for their publications/space and will draw readers/collectors.

    For the Etsy/online store, the engine shows most recently posted products first in a general “art” search, so I will consistently update the store with one or two things instead of infrequent big uploads. Then people can dribble in from one or two items they notice and check out the rest of the store if they like the art. Offer multiple sizes and price points for prints so people can fit to their needs. Also allow for commissions if desired.

    2. If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    - Class on public-speaking/sales/negotiation — learn how to become more comfortable speaking during a first meeting, presenting myself and my thoughts in a professional way
    - Membership to local chapter of Society of Illustrators — valuable information about industry, upcoming talks, gallery shows, contests and opportunities
    - Additional books on business of art — basic information on where to start and familiarize myself with the standard practices of the industry, listings of different galleries and publishers, how to set myself up as a business, etc

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    - Conferences and conventions for popular art, books and publishers — places where art directors/editors have portfolio reviews, trade notes with one another and offer feedback to artists. This is real life contact with my target audience. I can ask them what they want. Some art directors/editors are willing to give portfolio feedback, suggest helpful resources and give me their contact info.
    - More memberships to various societies/guilds for illustration and fine art — valuable information about industry, upcoming talks, gallery shows, contests and opportunities
    - Submissions to contests, art directors, galleries
    - Classes/workshops/books on techniques or skills that I’ve been meaning to learn to expand my artistic repertoire. Interacting with other artists and the act of creating new art brings out renewed energy and enthusiasm.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    A longer term professional artist level workshop/course. The goal is to learn something new and/or complete another project that will strengthen my portfolio. Depending on the course, I may qualify to participate in student art competitions. It would also give me the opportunity to connect with a community of artists in various stages of their careers for valuable feedback on my work and insights into current trends and opportunities within the industry.

    EMCGUIRE: I am also having similar difficulties applying these strategies. After all, what we are providing is a unique product/voice. It’s not necessarily about getting into the client’s (art director’s) mind. I wonder if the part of the course that will be more applicable to us is in designing a business model, negotiation, self-valuation, and reframing some thoughts and approaches vs. finding a niche. However, if there are any suggestions at this stage, I’d love to hear them, thanks!

    RAMIT: Thanks for all the tips so far. Though I haven’t been able to apply them directly, your ideas have already helped reframe how I plan on approaching and presenting things. Although I understand that this course is more focused for people who want to earn side-income, guidance for those who are looking to strengthen their careers in a competitive, freelance-based industry would be helpful. I hope one of your teardowns can include someone who is more in that position, thanks!

    Reply
41. RobM says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    My idea:

    I haven’t decided on my idea yet, however I am very interested in developing a side-income by drawing cartoons. Some ideas I’m considering are offering illustration work to specific websites/blogs – offering to provide cartoons related to the content.

    A lot of people like to use images as part of content but you have to find the right image, check out the copyright etc. I would get to know their blog/site and then offer a cartoon to fit in with their new post/page. Once they are familiar with my style, they could send me their post before it goes up and I would then provide the drawing.

    This same idea could be applied to older posts. If there an older post/page whose content is still relevant and of use to people, one way of bringing it to peoples attention again would be show part of the post again but this time with an illustration. The illustration would help to refresh the post, rather than simply reposting.

    I am also considering the idea of providing tailor made cartoons for Power Point slides.

    EXERCISE:
    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it?

    And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    How I was going to deliver it:
    I was going to send them three sample cartoons based on some of their previous content.

    How I am going to:
    I am thinking it would be better to show them exactly how the pictures would fit into their content. i.e. some them a cartoon inserted into the text. I would prepare this for three pages/posts that I particularly liked and send it to them.
    For the Power Point slide cartoons I could put together a mini PP presentation showing the cartoons in action and send the file to them.

    2. If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it?

    i. I would find someone who could tutor me to help me improve my cartooning skills. I think I could learn some much and save so much time by finding the right person.

    ii. Same as ‘i’ but this time find an expert on social media/marketing who could tutor me one-to-one.

    iii. Find a tutor for Photoshop/illustrator who could help me improve my skills with the software.

    iv. Spend it on Ramit’s next course! I would get a lot of straight up advice and tips on things to implement, just like I’m getting with this free course.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    i. I am currently doing two courses in the evening at a university. The combined cost of those two courses is approx. $1000. With another $1000 I could take two more courses. Although I am only into the second week of each course (both are 10 weeks) I am enjoying studying with other people again – I get a lot of inspiration form my classmates. I am exceedingly motivated by studying with people whose skills are on a different level than mine.

    The instructors are also really helpful, and I get a lot of good ideas through e-mail correspondence with them. If I ask the instructors smart questions I can save myself hours of trying to figure it out by myself.

    ii. Same as answers to #2 above, but with $1000 I could pay for a lot more tutoring.

    iii. Pay for a freelancer to help me set up my side-business. After reading 4-hour work week I am starting to get my head around the idea of contracting out and how it could free up my time to concentrate on the creative side of things.

    Also, the main reason I would like to try employing a freelancer is that it is a big mind set change for me for several reasons: the idea of not doing everything myself, being a manager, freeing up time, working with someone half way across the world etc. I just think that the idea is a good one to try.

    • If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    i. As my work situation is uncertain this year, $5000 would buy me some time if my job ended. I would mean that I would be able to work part-time for a couple of months and use the spare time to study, work on my skills, and also look for a job that I would really like to do as opposed to being forced to grab the first job available because of needing the cash.

    ii. $5000 Would pay for the entire certificate that I am currently studying for. I have paid $1000 already, so I would put $2000 some place where I couldn’t access the money until needed for the course. Alternatively I could ask the university if I could pay in advance for the other units. With the remaining $2000 I could put it towards to some of the ideas mentioned earlier such as tutoring.

    Reply
42. Lisa says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:28 pm

    I am a true Ramit Sethi success story (ha!)

    I was motivated to start taking my freelancing (PPC/SEO) more seriously about mid-last year after reading the book for the first time. Around that time I connected with my business partner, and we now run a shockingly successful side business (www.wordplaysearch.com), given the amount of time and resources we’ve put into it. Sure, it’s kind of lame that at least one of our weekend days involves work, but it’s something we enjoy and we usually have a really good time. Beats sitting around and earning nothing for it. Let me just say – we are earning a lot more than $1,000

    So without further ado, my answers:

    1. I actually just sent a proposal to a new client. I have to say, I didn’t really take it as seriously as I should have. I didn’t make a compelling case for him to choose us over anyone else. I think I’ve become a little complacent, since we already have three solid clients and plenty to do – but that could theoretically change at any time, and developing new business is key to avoid a lull.

    I’m honestly thinking of revising my proposal to explain to the prospective client why leaving online brand positioning to the experts will help him focus on running his business and doing the key things he is needed for.

    2.
    $500 on self-improvement:
    My biggest barrier in my life right now is time, so I would likely use these funds to outsource more of my current tasks. While I know that I could probably currently outsource more than I do, the basic human instinct is to not pay someone for something you can already do yourself

    $1,000 on self-improvement:
    I would likely seek out a conference I could attend – not for the sessions, those are useless – but for networking purposes, so that I might be able to grow my contact list and meet potential new customers.

    $5,000 on self-improvement:
    My “self” would be most greatly improved if I took a 4 week vacation to South America. Trust.

    Thanks Ramit and team! This has been great so far, keep it up.

    Reply
43. Trayton says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:28 pm

    I currently work as a financial analyst and have gotten quite good at automating a lot of my tasks in Excel and Access. I have also been helping a close friend, who recently started an investment banking job, with some Excel basics.

    I had originally thought of freelancing by developing a course to give I-bankers a good introduction to Excel and Access. However, talking with my friend more, I am starting to think the I-bankers probably don’t care how to use the programs better, but want more time to work on presentations, analysis, etc. I am now thinking of over-delivering by developing various macros to save my friend several hours a week. I would then use his network to access I-bankers willing to pay money to free up their evenings and weekends by having me eliminate time-consuming computer tasks. I would guarantee so many hours a week saved from my macros, and I would emphasize how much they made (by tying a dollar value to their free time) by paying me to automate parts of their job.

    If I had to spend $500 on self-improvement, I would hire a VA so I could develop some management skills as well as take care of some low priority objectives. One task in mind is creating one database of contacts from my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. This would allow me to gain a better understanding of the network I am connected into and also make it easier for me to contact people.

    If I had to spend $1,000 on self-improvement, I would invest in the Personal MBA reading list and develop a plan to complete the list in 2 years. I would make a point to apply at least 2 techniques learned from each book while I am reading it and maintain those techniques as I move through the list. I would expect the biggest self-improvements from the sales and negotiating books, because these are 2 areas I have almost no experience with or knowledge about.

    If I had to spend $5,000 on self-improvement, I would take a couple of programming classes at my local university. Everything I know about programming I have learned on my own or through necessity at work, so I would expect a better grasp of the fundamentals would provide me a good framework to improve my effectiveness. I would also plan to take C and Java, and I understand these are 2 languages that would give me a solid foundation to start learning to develop in just about anything else.

    Reply
44. Ben Shive says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:25 pm

    1k-implementation

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    I’ve been waffling between a food service similar to this post, which is why I was really looking forward to it. The other was application development for the iPhone and now iPad. Tech and food are my two biggest passions.

    First idea is a Vegetarian Food Service with a lesser focus on incorporating local ingredients (niche*2!). These are two really hot areas I’ve been practicing for years now at home. The original delivery was simply like a personal food service that does vegetarian+local meals.

    Overdelivery: Not in the head of the clients. I need to go and talk to them, but the refinement of the pitch above spoke volumes. Need to add the ‘feel good’ pushes, and streamline the entire process. Potentially a web connection where the clients can opt to mix up the menu/options/schedule without having to find all the paperwork, get me on the phone, etc..

    Second idea is the custom iPhone application development for companies or individuals. This would pull all of the content together into one application (papers, blogs, video, podcast, etc) into a single educational point with opportunities to upsell into paid content on the device and get customer feedback. The initial client target was a biofeedback company that is really working hard to educate people on exactly what the heck it can do for them.

    Overdelivery: Prototype it, pitch it. Show that I can assemble the components they have spread out all over the place into a single interesting point. It should hopefully be a no-brainer to them to offer the v1.0 development free using the fee-to-free concepts from before. Thinking this through, maybe I should pitch this to you as well Ramit!

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
    Local community college class or two on food prep or iPhone dev. I already have the skills I need, but this would improve them and provide some networking for people to hire if I need extra hands.
    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    Really, this level doesn’t seem terribly different from $500 to me, another class + a bit left over for buying feedback.
    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    Worldwide Developer Conference (Tickets+Airfare+Hotel), plus additional test hardware. Best of Apple tech and strategies right from the source, plus a super-valuable networking tool.
    Food-related would be classes at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. Super skill and networking boost.

    Reply
45. April says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:18 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.
    #1 Freelance writing/editing: I would have delivered an article as a Word doc or uploaded to their blog. Now, I would tell a client that an article will be researched, written, and proofread. It will include an appropriate, copyright-free photograph. I will upload it for them or provide an HTML file, and I am available to participate in the comments section to further the discussion with readers.
    (Question—for a big company like QuinStreet, I only have one way to deliver my projects—uploaded to their system. I’m not sure how to go above and beyond for them other than just writing great copy and accepting lots assignments when they are in a pinch. I’d like more clients like them (big company, lots of assignments, pay me on the 15th of every month, but not sure how to get/find them)
    #2 Yoga (I’ll use yoga-at-work program niche, paid for by the employer): I would have delivered it by showing up and teaching the class. Now I think I’d start delivering in my pitch by offering to help the business determine if there was interest among their employees through a survey. This would make life easier for them and allow me to pitch to employees, my second audience, myself. I could dispel some myths and get them psyched about having a program at work. After getting the job, I deliver again by teaching the employees and encouraging student feedback. I could use this feedback to show the employer results. I realize I need to think of something more here.

    2. If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
    Maybe one-on-one personal business coaching sessions. I’d want help defining and testing my niche, locating potential clients, pitching, and feedback on where I could improve.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    Ashtanga and vinyasa yoga teacher training courses. I’d do this to expand the areas in which I’m certified to teach.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    A yoga certification or month-long training to get my 500-hour teacher certification. It would directly help with my business, and it’s applicable in all areas of my life. I already know what I’ve gotten from yoga so far (the guts to finally work toward quitting my job, for one). When I started practicing yoga every day, I started to take action with my freelance business, too, so besides helping with the business, yoga training improves me all-around.

    Reply
46. Elomar França says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    This week is being completely awesome, Ramit! Thanks!

    Now to the questions. My real future goal is to create some web app that I can sell as a product (like the kind of thing 37Signals do with Basecamp and etc), focused on a niche. For me, freelancing will be a way to pay the bills and acquire experience while I figure out what product I could and build it.

    I WAS going to offer my services as a programmer specialized in transforming bad code in good code, easier to maintain and change, but now I don’t think that would work – usually only programmers realize the cost of bad code, not their bosses (who I was going to offer my services to).

    Instead, I will OVER-DELIVER by transforming an idea into a product really fast and with top quality. I realize that some fears most managers have is
    – Investing a big amount upfront, only to see that it wasn’t worth it
    – Paying for a bad product, that cannot be easily modified and have to be rewritten soon
    I would attack those fears, by making the initial investment small and guaranteeing the quality of the final product.

    If I had to invest $500 on personal improvement, I would
    – buy a bunch of books on technical, business, human and financial matters. I love reading, and think that I get a high value from books.
    – take a course on some skill that complement mine, like designing. I am not able – yet – to develop a complete product due to my lack of design skills
    With $1,000 I would also
    – take some lessons to improve my people skills, like leadership and speaking to strangers. I think this king of thing would improve my life as a hole, personal and business
    – learn and try things that I am interested in but are not business related, like cooking and taking pictures. I think hobbies would make me more productive and fulfilled, and they could even become another way to earn money on the side
    With more $5,000 to spend on myself, I would
    – attend to conferences related to subjects I am interested, in order to meet in person industry leaders, possible mentors, partners and clients.

    That’s it, but I’m pretty sure the next lessons will make me rethink all this stuff

    Reply
47. Evan says:

    January 28, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    My freelance idea was offering my specific skills, print and web design, to small companies who desperately needed branding or an identity. I’ve done this in the past with some success, but I haven’t been able to nail down a steady stream of income. My attempts to niche it down have not worked out to well. I started off trying to design online portfolios for art students, but we all know how working with students can be. I’ve also attempted poster/album/merchandise designs for local bands and musicians, but they are also either broke or sketchy. The problem I’ve encountered is a lot of people just can’t tell the difference between good and bad design, so they’ll often go to someone paying less for a crappy design.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it?

    I would invest in books such as ‘The Graphic Designer’s Market” with plenty of resources and contact info for different agencies, independent record labels, and publications that hire freelance designers and illustrators. I live in a small, crappy market and almost always have to look in larger cities for clients.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I would attend conferences such as the HOW design conference for freelance design advice, but more importantly to meet successful freelancers and designers and seek their advice

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I would attend conferences and take the most successful freelancers out to a very expensive dinner and learn everything I could from them. Either that or buy a lot of awesome computer hardware/software.

    Reply
48. Eric says:

    January 28, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    Ramit, I just noticed that my big-ass comments are split between pages. The start is the last entry in the previous page. The follow-up is the first comment of this page.

    Just didn’t want you to see the second part, without seeing the first part.

    Reply
49. Eric says:

    January 28, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    I would include testimonials from your SS users, with their pictures. I think video testimonials from your users would be even better. You could also use testimonials or reviews from other authority figures.

    An easy one: In the video, you say “click the link below” and you point down, but there is no link there. Instead, you should tell the user to enter their name and email in the form on the lower right.

    In your copy you give three ways a user may save money. I would expand on this greatly. It gives nothing away to give 10-20 ways a user may save money.

    I would set the video up so that it plays automatically.

    I would highlight the email opt-in box a bit more, perhaps with a colorful background. I might also make the button bigger and brighter. This is obviously designed to draw more attention to the opt-in.

    I would consider using a pop-up when the user tries to navigate away from the site. Perhaps it’s just to ask if they’re sure they don’t want to save thousands of dollars per year, perhaps it’s a link to a survey to ask why they didn’t sign up

    I would test your headline. It seems good as-is, but I would also test a variant. Maybe something like: Forget the Latte Factor, Focus on Sources of BIG Savings!

    Consider using a tagline under your logo.

    Consider testing the actual offer. To me, it appears that you’re offering a free course but then the video implies that you’ll be asking for money at some point in the future. As I’ve mentioned, this needs to be more clear. But, you could consider split testing this versus a landing page which directly states the offer ($$$) but includes the free quick-start guide as a bonus.

    To summarize:
    -I’m new to the field, but you gotta break in somehow! It helps that I have some background in statistics and own an ebook website.
    -I did not think this market was as saturated as SEO. I may need to do more research to determine if the conversion rate optimization (CRO) market is over-saturated.
    -I will define myself by dominating my niche, although deciding on which niche I will focus on needs more work.

    I noted many suggestions for improvement to the Scrooge Strategy website. The two biggest IMO are:
    1) the offer needs to be more clear IMO. How will SS work?
    2) I think the copy needs to be greatly expanded upon.

    Man, if you split tested your current page with a test page that utilizes these suggestions, I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t see a significant improvement in conversions.

    Ok, this pretty much wrecked my last hour at work! I hope you can make use of some of this stuff!

    Reply
50. Eric says:

    January 28, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    Uh wow, I didn’t really expect this sort of response! To answer Ramit’s questions:

    * Who are you?
    I’m a PhD student in engineering in Canada. I own a couple of small websites that earn me some passive income. One of them is a website that sells a very niche poker ebook (Double or nothing sit and go strategy guidebook – actually two ebooks, one is strategy, one is actual hand examples. Awhile back I set up a split test experiment for my sales page and have achieved a 45.8% increase in conversions using my test page versus the control. (That said, the test is not yet complete since it can take awhile to converge to a statistically significant result, depending on the magnitude of improvement and the number of conversions)

    After reading your blog lately, I got the idea that I could make some extra cash helping internet marketers improve their landing pages. I think this area of conversion optimization is going to be huge, and is just as important as SEO, if not more so.

    To be sure, I’m new to the field, (which why I mentioned that if I had $500,$1000 or $5000, I would invest in learning more about the field through books or courses). But, I think it’s interesting, I have a background in statistics and I think I can help internet marketers improve their landing pages. And hey, if my efforts don’t result in any improvement, I wouldn’t get paid!

    * Why don’t you link to a website where I can see your blog / portfolio?
    Yep, great question for sure. The answer is that I haven’t yet taken the step to find my first client, so I don’t have any portfolio. I will definitely be developing a website soon. I think my first priority should be to find a few clients – either paid, or perhaps free as Charlie Hoehn (sp?) did for you (not sure how to spell his name, but the guy that wrote the job seeking ebook).

    * There are 50,000,000 conversion consultants and most suck. What makes you different?
    Maybe this comment will show my naivety, but are there really that many conversion consultants? If you said there were 50,000,000 SEO consultants, I would agree. Certainly, I’ve been investigating the top players in the field and there are some great ones out there.

    I think my chosen niche would make me different. My plan was to focus on a certain narrow niche and buildup experience in that niche. I was thinking about a few different niches:
    -Internet marketers (too broad perhaps?)
    -websites that sell poker products (books, software, etc related to poker) since I have lots of experience playing online poker in addition to my own poker product site.
    -bloggers: helping them figure out how to optimize their rss/twitter links, their email list opt-in boxes, their ebook landing pages, etc.

    * What would you recommend for my own sites?
    I’m at work, so most of this is right off the top of my head.

    Ok, let’s look at scroogestrategy.com, for example. The absolute biggest thing IMO is that after reading the copy and watching the video (three times), I still don’t understand what Scrooge Strategy (SS) really is.

    At first glance (looking at the copy), it looks like a free email course (since it’s 7 days, I gather that it must be by email).

    The video is great, but still confusing. In it, you talk about giving one month free. This implies that after that SS will cost me money. But how much? What am I getting into? How will I be billed?

    Then you mention that I’ll get immediate access to the “save $1000 in 30 days quick start guide”. This sounds to me like an ebook. Is it an ebook? How is this different from the “free 7-day quick start guide” that the copy mentions?

    The biggest thing is that I don’t understand how SS will work in practice. Will you be sending me regular emails with savings tips? Is this a community based web-forum? An email newsletter?

    Various other tips in no particular order:
    -Let me flip this around… Who are you? Why should I buy from you? In your video you say your name, but that’s it. Admittedly, your name is well known, but you should take it further. I would include the info that you are a NYTBSA and author of IWTYTBR, which has “over 250,000 readers per month and 30,000+ newsletter subscribers”.

    I would dramatically increase the amount of text copy on the website. I would put in writing, a lot of the information that is in the video. You may not want to end up with a typical spammy looking internet sales page, but it is possible to do a tasteful one that isn’t too long, but which should be far more effective. I think I could do a good job of writing copy for your website, but you might also consider outsourcing this part to a copywriting professional. A lot of the stuff you’ve written on your blog about SS should go in your sales copy. Some good stuff here: http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/trent-says-the-scrooge-strategy-is-short-sighted-i-respond-with-a-challenge/

    OK, so I’m at the 5000 character limit for my response. Stay tuned for just a bit more.

    Reply
51. Rob says:

    January 28, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    I have already invested 500 dollars in one such online course.
    I have also spent 1000 dollars on another such online course.
    both very popular, well-known people leading these courses.
    they were similar to what you are offering, Ramit.
    these courses are product launch formula and project mojave.
    what sets yours apart from these?

    Reply
52. Jeff says:

    January 28, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    Idea: Do you run a (small/medium size) data-intensive business that would collapse if a fire destroyed your computers? I can provide automated backups that can revive your business.

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    a. My delivery is based on getting inside the customer’s head: they care about safety and recovery speed.

    b. My delivery is now based on getting inside the customer’s head 2-3 years from now: they care about fire drills, large scale recovery plans, off-site storage.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    * A gym membership and a trainer. I’m not in bad shape, but I want to better my health and increase my energy.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    * Languages classes & meeting people that I want to learn from.

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    * Travel.

    Reply
53. David Wynn says:

    January 28, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    (1) You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    My idea was to start tutoring in my area specifically for students at a cluster of private schools in Atlanta. All of them are K-12, which allows me flexibility on subject matter and age, though I want to focus on high schoolers in subjects related to my degree: Economics, Math, Statistics, and Computer Science.

    Presently, I’ve been trying to mimic what I would do if I was the parent: scour the web. There are a number of sites where I could put up a profile as a tutor, and there’s always craigslist (though that channel is flooded with tutoring ads).

    My girlfriend went to one of the schools I’m looking at, so one of my first steps in merging heads with potential clients will be to call her parents and ask what they would’ve done and where they would’ve looked for a high quality tutor (my hunch says not craigslist). Then I’ll need to get in contact with the school to see if they have a tutor referral program of some kind, and work my way from there.

    How to reach clients is still something I’m wrapping my head around. I wouldn’t think anyone wants to be sought out told their child needs brain help for the classroom. So the strategy I’m working with at the moment is be where they’ll look first.

    As to the value proposition, I’m also struggling with how I should OVER-deliver. The problem is the student doesn’t get the material, and we fix it together. I’ve got an idea in my head about keeping more detailed stats on tutees than the average tutor to help track development and bolster future pitches, but I’m unsure of what to do beyond that.

    (2)
    ***** If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.****

    $500 is a good self-help class on the order of a full weekend in person or an intensive 1-2 week online situation. I only take things like this that tend to be practical, focusing on skill acquisition or paradigm acquisition.

    One instance jumps out that I regret not enrolling in: a leadership class. This class dealt specifically with bringing out your sense of authority. An exercise I read about later involves everyone in the room standing, and waiting to be told to sit by the person in front. The catch? They couldn’t sit until they believed it. By the time everyone in the room sat, it was time for the next person.

    **** If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?****

    This is tough because $1,000 is a price tag that starts to make me nervous. I would start to demand more face time in a class setting, away from mundane work commitments for at least a full week.

    As to the content, I’m going to want something at this level that relates to my every day life so I can keep it with me. It could be related to how I view and understand other people, how I understand and relate to my own body (in a martial arts sense), or how I relate to abstract information so I can understand new concepts more thoroughly and completely.

    Examples would be a top-notch cooking class, an Aikido retreat in a remote location, or an multi-disciplinary class focused on becoming a better tutor.

    ***** If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?****

    Hmmm… I would probably say something similar to the above, but on a longer time horizon. I don’t think I would reach for anything qualitatively different at this level… I’d just add on time spent honing whatever practice was at hand.

    Reply
54. François says:

    January 28, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    My freelance idea:
    I think there must be people/businesses struggling with French-speaking clients, in a way that it’s important to their business but not in a scale big enough to have full-time people dedicated to the problem. That’s where as a freelance I can help them deal with the burden of bad communication and the worry to miss something lost in translation. (Wouldn’t appealing to their fear of losing business be a good way to show they need me?)

    I’m only about to start to research (…), but I need to find these people and make their life easier.

    I’m thinking wine & food, and maybe clothing, artwork, antiques, stamps. Not sure yet I will ask questions before selling anything.

    1. How WERE you going to deliver it? How are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    I’m still struggling with getting in the head of possible clients, so I did not think about it before, but now I would do this. In addition to help them with their relationship with their clients, I’d spend time to reach for new possible clients. (I don’t really have contacts in any of the fields mentioned above, might be difficult)

    2. Self Improvement – What would you spend it on? Why?

    I’d take anything to learn how to SELL! I’m a techie, I’m doing fine with easy stuff (things that do not involve real people). But now I’m pretty sure selling is the most important skill to have/learn/master, too bad I’m just realizing it now.

    For $500 : A couple books, maybe an online course if i got sold on the value.

    For $1,000 : A sales bootcamp, to get real interaction and real experience.

    For $5,000 : Not sure, probably a very high value sales training, no idea what that’d even look like actually.

    Reply
55. grubbypaws says:

    January 28, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    1. Out of a few ideas I was considering a niche website for bbw lovers similar to the ferish site mentioned earlier; however it would be art based and not a dating site. There is a fair sized community of bbw/lovers and artists but I’ve yet to run across a solid home for us.
    Teired site access.monthly subscription
    Over delivery – exclusivelty available prints + commisoned work

    With $500 I would attend comic con for the firsrt time to meet and network with other artists

    $1000 apprentice under another graphic artist
    $5000 use to set up lega framework/copywrite protection.
    Sorry for typos its hard to do this on a cell phone.

    Reply
56. Rob says:

    January 28, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    Ramit – this is the same rob from above with http://www.smartercontext.com

    this is the letter i’m sending out tonight
    and here’s the survey link
    (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LDGN3R7):

    Time to read this email: 2 minutes
    (unless you click on links)

    Hi {!firstname_fix},

    The weekly blog feed is below in this email, but first I want to address what I heard.

    I heard from some readers that SC is sending out too many emails.
    They love what we’re doing and strongly support us, but we’re up against limited inbox sizes and limited time. Plus, it’s just a little annoying.

    We get it, and we hear you. We’re going to make some changes.

    One of our principles at SC is responsiveness and adaptability – the website needs to be nimble to provide value. In order for us to know HOW to change, just stop by here and answer a few questions (total time 4 minutes):

    Click here for a 4-minute, 10 Question Quick Survey
    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LDGN3R7

    I made the mistake of launching the site at the same time I launched our first program. That’s why you received so many emails. Usually you will receive ONE email per week. But, give us your feedback, please.

    One other thing – about that first program . . .

    We crafted the topic and content based upon the initial “Next Step” survey from last fall. However, not many of you seemed to be interested in the first program. Some of you were, but not enough.

    There could be many reasons for this, but we need to make sure that we’re serving YOU. Otherwise, what’s the point, right? Our goal is nothing short of serving this community better than you thought a website ever could. In short, we want this to be remarkable and groundbreaking.

    We’re not there yet, we know. But with your help, we will be. So, {!firstname_fix}, please take a few minutes to help us kick some butt:

    Click here for a 4-minute, 10 Question Quick Survey

    If you are interested in Program 1, but didn’t sign-up yet, there are still spots available for the next two teleseminars. You can speak to a nationally renowned architect (Wed Feb 3rd 4pm-5pm Eastern -5GMT) and ask questions about costs and contractors to a contractor with 35+ yrs experience (Thu Feb 4th 8pm-9pm Eastern -5GMT).

    And without further delay, the blog posts from the past week
    that you may have missed:

    —————

    what do you think? Any help would be apprecitated!

    Reply
57. Jenn says:

    January 28, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    Idea: Custom ads, copywriting, and consulting for high end luxury apartment homes. Why? Most of the ads and promo materials are terrible and cookie cutter, they pay high fees to companies that give them the exact same layouts and wording- they do this because
    a.) the business manager of the building doesn’t know how to post ads or the leasing assistant is posting them and they don’t really care about the return. This results in the cookie cutter ads if they have it automated with a company that did the “copywriting” for them, or they are doing it themselves and they have no idea how to do links in the ads or add pictures.

    (example: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/apa/1574809030.html is an ad for a high end penthouse in Seattle that is posted for the apartment by a company because the manager does not know how to post ads well)

    b.) the ads are poorly chosen, both in type and the ad placement (if using magazines, which the ROI rarely pays off)
    c.) most of the managers at luxury apartments are very customer service focused, but don’t have time to write well worded copy (they typically have 1 thing that is the same as what their website says) on top of learning all of the other programs necessary to run the office.

    1. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.
    I was going to deliver it by creating a website that I could direct people to offering different services, now I think the website should be after I have shown that I can optimize ads (do it for several apartments for free or low fee first). I can over deliver by also giving them market surveys (I have access to and know how to do this), additional custom work, providing a process of how it was done so owners can see the work- they like to know their portfolio managers are not wildly spending money!

    2.
    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
    I would learn to use Real Page (popular property management software) to add an additional edge to the other apartment management software I currently know.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    Attend additional classes on property management from the owners perspective, to help learn what trends the owners are looking at. Important since it is the owners that tell the investment/portfolio managers what they want, which impacts what the managers of building do as far as ads.

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    Take courses on sales (in person) tactics, specifically body language related. I am quite shy, so while I absolutely know what I am talking about, a sales pitch can come off as maybe I don’t since I am so shy.

    (I am not currently doing this, I run another business but this is one that is bouncing around in my head. I have experience as a business manager for luxury apartments, know the owners of several, and hear way too often about how terrible the marketing is and how the managers needs to learn better marketing but don’t know where to go)

    Reply
58. Dominique says:

    January 28, 2010 at 3:40 pm

    1.My idea is to provide highly skilled interns (college, graduate) to small and mid size companies that are looking to grow in size and talent. (Note. I have work experience in internship placement and workforce development for a large municipal government- finding interns for health, GIS, Recreation, Legal…). I am looking particularly for stable companies who are serious about growth and serious about utilizing talented people for work (not filers and photocopiers in general)

    I am going to deliver by making the internship recruitment and selection process practically invisible to them. Basically tell me what you want… I will find them, vet them, and come back to you with at max 3 interns for 1 position for the second level interviews. I will send out acceptance letters, all hr related information in a formal packet, orient the student to the job and work function and provide the employer with a training manual. I will assist the student in completing all forms (schedules, W-9’s, I-9’s Health forms…) Most importantly I will find them the correct match for what they need without all the hassle of finding it themselves.

    I will over deliver by making the process simple clear and fast and I work with top universities and nitch groups/organizations to make the correct match. Within 4-6 weeks (haven’t decided yet) I will provide you with an intern for your needs, that is completely competent skilled and knowledgeable about your industry and your work needs. They will come ready to work on the first day without any issues to address (schedule confirmed, paperwork completed) Not only will these interns provide work assistance but they will provide value to your company/organization.

    My goal is to get them what they need a skilled competent worker) without the them having to deal with the hassle of student schedules, university rules and the administrative process.

    2.If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? I would spend it on books and workshops to address my stumbling blocks. Clearly articulating my point, increasing my self esteem, thinking small first and big later (focusing on small wins). I would utilize this information as a base/toolkit and start enacting practices that I had learned

    • If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why? I would spend it on meeting smart cool people who are doing what I want to do. I would spend it on a VA who could scour the information for me and compile it to find those interesting people who may not be as visible but who are just as valuable (I do this currently by going on TED and Fora TV and compiling names of interesting people I could learn more from or want to work with.
    • If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why? I would spend it on a consultant who could assess my work and product and give me strong feedback that correlates to real results for myself and my business.

    Reply
59. Jeremy says:

    January 28, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    Hey Matt C. – I am not a designer, or I would have fixed the favicon for Ramit.

    RE: Certifications: Waste of money. I’ve never gotten back a dime of what I spent on those versus networking, actually learning new skills, or taking leadership courses.

    Reply
60. J says:

    January 28, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    Honestly,I feel like a geriatric escapee reading all of these commments on optimization and web design. I’ve been thinking about doing freelance writing on the net. How could I over-deliver to my client, add site links and book references to help clients gain further insight into what they can do.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    For $500 I would invest in a home computer and high speed access to do more writing.

    With $1000 mental therapy to end my procrastination habit or attend Woodturning classes in South Carolina so that I could speed up my production of woodturned items and sell them.

    With $5000 attend a seminar on persuasion put on by Ross Jeffries and any seminar by Dr. Thomas Stanley who wrote the Millionaire Next Door and Selling To The Affluent.
    Of the ideas that I see here (THAT I UNDERSTAND) some of them would be more profitable if a simple consistent method for selling to the rich were found.

    Thanks again Ramit for inspiring me.

    Reply
61. whidavi says:

    January 28, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client?

    I’ve been working with a business owner for some time, “helping” with part of her life-skills development program. I have had vague notions of doing whatever she asked me to do (which I have).

    However, after a great breakfast where I asked what she really wanted and she said, “Someone to take over,” I am going to a) Make myself look like a viable contender by actually charging her instead of just “helping” (which she has already agreed to) and b) Start providing ideas and actions of my own that will help the business grow. I’m going to start acting like an owner, because SHE SPECIFICALLY TOLD ME THAT’s WHAT SHE WANTS.

    Also, I am going to phrase everything in terms of how to make the business grow–like Andrew, I’ve got to continually show how I am solving her biggest problem.

    Honestly, I feel like an idiot for waiting for an engraved invitation. But that is in the past and now I am on it.

    2. If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    If I had $500, I would put it $149 of it towards the “Art of Nonconformity Unconventional Guide to Social Media,” as I need social media management skills and I think his work is great, and then I would put the rest towards the full Earn1K course because it will provide me with the ass-kicking I need to actually become the entrepreneur I want to be.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    Ditto to $500. If there’s any left, I’ll use it to cover expenses for canvassing additional clients.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    Ditto again, on a grander scale! What I need right now is a basic guide, an ass-kicking, and money to take people out to eat!

    Reply
62. Evan Kepner says:

    January 28, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    My freelance idea is for hosting online bass lessons. I’m a contributing editor for a music/bass blog (http://www.notreble.com) and was writing lessons for them – I thought expanding my lesson writing and giving other musicians a platform to host online lessons in the bass niche would be a good business. I started a website http://learnthelowend.com in September of 2009.

    After reading this post I’ve determined something major: I’VE BEEN SELLING TO THE WRONG MARKET! I thought my market was students – when really my market should be teachers. Rather than presenting the website as a place to learn I should be marketing it as a place to host lessons – an entrepreneurial platform for educationally oriented musicians.

    Over-delivery? Since teachers are my new market I can help them sell with “focus piece” email newsletters and promotional codes for their courses – that’s automatic access to hundreds of students already registered with the site! This site will be creating a network of great bass-educators: I can over-deliver by introducing teachers to each other, holding my own “teachers conference” for ideas, and helping teacher develop their own websites for promotional and networking purposes. I can also help them promote and sell their own music to the total student body. Additionally I could offer bonus incentives for top-selling teachers.

    With $500 – this is good for books and seminars. I’ve bought a lot of business and finance books (including “I will Teach You to Be Rich” – which has greatly helped – I love ING Direct) and learned a lot so far. I am still working on the best way to optimize my LLC.

    With $1000 – I’ve already invested this in myself by creating http://learnthelowend.com – the filing fees for forming the LLC, creating the website (and hiring a graphic artist), registering the domains, setting up the merchant account and miscellaneous costs (including the books learning how to do all of that) – ran to be about that much. The process of setting up a business has been one of the MOST valuable educational experiences I’ve ever had. If I had another $1000 I’d start a second small business in a different vertical to see how it would go.

    With $5000 – I’d go to conferences. First I’d try to find a place where I could collect some all-star names to use as teachers (since they’re my newly identified market) for Learn The Low End and make them offers to get the onboard (if they’re a big enough name I’d consider paying them as a sponsor). I’d make a point to go to as many relevant business conferences and music teacher conferences as possible, for my own education but mostly to make connections and contacts. A strong contact from a conference could potentially teach me more in the long term than the conference itself.

    Reply
63. Ramit Sethi says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    I don’t understand why so many people want to get certifications unless your specific customer is a big, lumbering corporation who values these things.

    Do you guys actually research these certifications to see if they provide any ACTUAL value?

    Many, many certifications are useless.

    Yet we continue grasping for educational certifications to give us the rubber stamp of success. I’d rather hire someone who’s good at what they do, completely understands me, and is a great communicator than someone who has a certification.

    Sorry to go off on a tangent. But at least half of the people who said they’d spend $2k or $5k on a certification are, even in this hypothetical exercise, wasting their money.

    Better to spend $5k taking 2 masters out to the fanciest lunch of their life (as someone suggested) or enrolling in a marketing/writing course.

    Reply
64. Daniel Schellenberg says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    Looks like I missed the instructions.

    1)

    I WAS going to deliver my idea by telling farmers that consumers want this information and they value it.

    Now, I will OVER-DELIVER by identifying their need to feel valuable and important.

    Communicate to the consumer your blood, sweet and tears. Food production is not easy work. Give the consumer the opportunity to see for themselves. In the meantime, communicate your role as a land steward and provider of important public services such as carbon capture in your fields, filtering of water through your soil and keeping the countryside economy strong. Many people just eat and forget. Give the consumer the opportunity to connect with a face and maybe even say “Thank You Farmer”.

    For $500, I would travel to one or more agriculture industry conference(s) to identify with potential clientele.

    For $1000, I would I would organize my own focus group with farmers to identify specific features and demo the product.

    For $5000, I would improve my web engineering skills by attending seminars and workshops to streamline the product.

    Below is my freelance idea
    –
    Give your Commodity a Personality!

    Many farmers want to reach out to the consumers of their lamb, peas, chicken and spicy peppers. They see it as a way to add value to their products that are often stuck on the commodity market. But, what is the best way?

    My freelance idea is to develop websites for farmers. The average farmer in America today is 40-60 years old so, they don’t know where to begin.

    Forget domains, hosting and design. I’ll take care of it. All you have to do is upload content to my secure workspace about WHO you are, WHAT do you produce, WHERE you are, WHEN is it on the market, WHY you love to farm and HOW to produce. Your website will be up within 24 hours.

    How much does it cost?
    The baseline product is free.

    Customers will pay for upgrades including custom domains and design as well as real-time editing capabilities.

    Should I do this?
    Yes, more and more consumers want to know more about their food. Don’t wait for annoying food safety regulations to put you on the map. Volunteer your information and make your voice heard.

    Any tear down is welcome, Ramit

    -Daniel

    Reply
65. Matt says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    Betty: Not to be rude or mean, but I think you’ve missed the entire point of the first part of the course.

    As for my answers to the exercise at hand:
    1. Unfortunately, I’m not to this point yet. I’ve been talking to some people that fit into my potential customer base to better understand how they see the issue. I’m already doing the work, but I’m trying to improve my model and change customer bases (I’m stuck in the one-off job rut). Right now, I’ve got the wrong clients and the occasional-nature/lack of pay is a problem (friends suck as customers!). I wish I’d had this course a while ago now.

    2.
    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? I would take a handful of certification exams; specifically the ones that enable me to tap into some sort of resource (Apple certifications). Also I’m thinking the full earn1k course is on the menu.

    If I had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Most likely an MCSE course or maybe accounting classes.

    If I had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? An instrument rating for my private pilot certificate, because this expands my flying abilities and the $6500 I spent on my current certificate is the best thing I have ever done. Some may consider it wasted money, but I learned more about myself, my capabilities, and overcoming difficulties than I ever learned in university.

    Reply
66. Denise says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    $500.00 would be spent on earn1k/or a course similar to earn1k that provides me with the business/marketing skills and personal coaching that I lack.

    $1000 to learn to do proper market research of the “youth market” thoroughly to see what services are needed that child and youth workers can fulfill (freelance work) that is currently not being fulfilled by youth agencies and school boards. For example there was an article at about.com that claimed schools in America are lacking support for emotional and behavioral issues. How would I do the research? How do I present the information to demonstrate a need? This is something I would pay to learn to do the best way possible.

    $5000, I love to write and always wanted to be a fiction writer. Also, a non-fiction writer on the topic of youth (mainly relating to resiliency) I would pay to have a one or two hour session with the most prolific, best selling authors and have them give me advice on writing that can’t be found anywhere. Or have them critique some of the material that I have already prepared.

    Reply
67. Stephen says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:29 pm

    And I’m aware of the irony of a tutor making a few basic grammar mistakes.

    Reply
68. Stephen says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it?

    I was going to deliver math tutoring services to students struggling in honors/AP classes.

    And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    Offer more than the typical 1 hr./wk help. Provide additional help such as “email me a problem you’re stuck on in your homework.”

    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    I’d invest in books on materials for marketing a tutoring business and how to provide private classes to H.S. students who’s parents want them to crush their SATs. I’ve provided tutoring years before but it was all word of mouth.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    Business coaching: how to charge more/hr., how to select and retain additional tutors so I could eventually move towards managing a business vs. only getting paid when I’m sitting with a student.

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    This is hard. I have the math chops already for this sort of work, can teach, and the investment work will not cost $5k. I don’t know how to really target and connect with the specific customer, e.g., “Well off parents who’s kid is struggling in tough math classes and will pay to make sure they dominate,” outside of a particular school district where I already have contacts. I’d probably start looking into getting advanced help on how to connect with those potential customers, get in their heads, and make it clear that I’m solving a problem they definitely want solved at a price they can easily afford. I think I would look for other very successful high-end tutors who work in other markets and offer to pay for their time in exchange for mentoring.

    Reply
69. Patty says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    Field: Water Feature Design

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    People hire me to design a water feature but I can also give them a lot of advice on city/project branding and overall visitor experience.

    I could over-deliver by putting together a brief report with observations, comments and suggestions to consider regarding the bigger picture of the project.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    I have recently spent that much on an online writing classes.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    Hire an organizational consultant to get my office more organized.

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I would make a business development trip somewhere in the world where I could do a lot of networking and maybe give a lecture.

    Reply
70. Ruby says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    Last year I realized there was a need in the online dating/ personal matchmaking field for people in recovery. My own experience with various sites and matchmakers were never the right ‘fit’. Knowing that is a niche market that I am familiar with , I took action and formed http://www.thesobermatchmaker.com with the hope of bringing people in recovery together and simultaneously removing the stigma of addiction from the coconsciousness of mainstream society. Because of limited financial resources and the need to take the right steps legally, what I envisioned initially has yet to manifest. Ideally, it would be a blend of Facebook-type social networking site allowing you to search through profiles while encouraging guided communication based on E-Harmony’s model. This would make it more high-end and less of the meat market feel that currently exists. It is currently offered as a free service in hopes of building membership.

    1. $500 would allow me to cover the cost of one outstanding invoice for published legal notices that are necessary in the state of NY when forming an LLC.
    2. $1000 would allow me to cover the cost of the second outstanding invoice for a published legal notice (can you believe that in NY you need to publish this in TWO newspapers in order for the company to be legal?) This would keep my company afloat which is essential in moving forward, obviously.
    3. $5,000 would go to a web design firm such as Blue Fountain Media or ForeScene to implement the idea that I have and bring it life. I have already contacted these firms and even though the cost would be well over $5,000 I would still be interested to see what I could accomplish with this budget.

    Over the last year I have done extensive research (books, blogs, spend plenty of my own cash on sites and matchmaking firms) and know that this niche market needs this. The response from the community has been very positive. They key is moving forward the right way instead of rushing to finish a product that will have to be corrected over and over.

    Thoughts?

    Reply
71. Ramit Sethi says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:10 pm

    Everyone watch this real-life proposal go down.

    Eric, I’m interested in your services (seriously). The things that are going through my mind, as a potential prospect, are:

    * Who are you?
    * Why don’t you link to a website where I can see your blog / portfolio?
    * There are 50,000,000 conversion consultants and most suck. What makes you different?
    * What would you recommend for my own sites?

    -Ramit

    Reply
72. Matt Cheney says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    Hey Jeremy…good catch. I just hope you are not a designer. If you are, you missed a great opportunity.

    Hypothetical Situation: You could have made a favicon and said, “Hey, I noticed you didn’t have a favicon. So I made one. Here’s the link.” and both Ramit and I would have been impressed. You’d probably be on our radar.

    If you are not a designer, thanks for pointing it out. Feedback is very helpful.

    Reply
73. Eric says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    One more addition to my previous comment.

    The thing about landing page optimization is that you can generate big increases in profits with the same amount of traffic/customers. This frees up more money to spend on ppc or other advertising, which sends you more traffic, which generates far more profits. In this way, a 20% conversion rate improvement can generate way more than 20% increase in profits.

    I will make these important details clear to my customers!

    Reply
74. Laurence Favrot says:

    January 28, 2010 at 2:01 pm

    Question 1:
    My idea revolves around “learning strategies” and teaching people about complex ideas. The implementation involves creating an online application to deliver on that idea. It will essentially be a simple online education platform that adapts to each user. This idea applies to just about anyone but I realized that I would have to niche it down to get initial traction (thanks Ramit). My initial idea was to target students but as you all have subtly reminded me, they are a bad audience. Thinking about it some more, I realized that a better audience would be older people who want to learn about technology but just can’t seem to “get it”. This audience has a need (I’m sure many of you have had an uncle or grandmother ask you about computers at some point) along with money, and often some free time. I might need to niche it down even further or find a different niche since I haven’t done enough research on this group yet.

    So now onto delivery: I was planning on launching an online application and using the social media channels I’m comfortable with to spread it around to an initial group (20s-40s, tech-savy). I had/have very specific ideas on how the app should look and work so I already sketched out how it will work. My plan was to see what people think about it and then use it with some initial test cases, mostly kids, to see how effective it is.

    My new plan: Well…it’s quite obvious that I had it wrong. I was focused on myself and what I wanted to build instead of what my potential clients/customers want me to build. My new plan is to research my niche and start conversations that inform the design of the application. Also, I need to find a better way to advertise and deliver the product. My market is not spending lots of time on facebook or using webapps (even if they’d like to be). I need to be able to bridge the gaps for them. That’s the whole point. And yes, I realize the paradox in offering help with complex ideas and technology through a web app. I’m trying to figure that one out. There will likely need to be an offline component as well. The other thing I was thinking of offering now is office hours where they can sign up to talk to me on the phone since that is probably more comfortable for my audience.

    Question 2:
    $500 – I would spend it on some business/life coaching (or maybe a psychologist?). I’m organized from a productivity standpoint but my goals are varied and disconnected.

    $1,000 – I would spend it on a writer’s workshop to improve my writing ability. This would have double impact in that it would vastly improve my ability to write and also fulfill one my dreams (I’ve always wanted to go to one).

    $5,000 – I would spend it on design classes and software since I’m woefully bad at UI and design in general. I keep running into this hole in my skill set. I consider myself a creative person but I have a hard time getting turning that creativity into results instead of just words on a page or ideas in my head.

    Reply
75. Eric says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:58 pm

    My freelancing service: Landing Page Optimization and Testing – probably for internet marketers, but I am considering other niches as well.

    –How I WAS going to deliver it:
    I was going to offer:
    1) a ten point report of suggestions for landing page improvements (my low price point offering)
    2) A/B split or multivariate testing incorporating suggestions from my report (my higher price point offering)

    –How I will over deliver NOW:
    I would over-deliver on 1) by always giving at least 2 “bonus” suggestions for improvement in addition to the standard 10.

    Also, I’m now thinking about guaranteeing performance by:
    -charging a fee based on the demonstrated increase in profits that my optimization services deliver. (If I generate $10K in extra profit per year for a business, who can argue with a $1000 fee?). At the end of a test, I would write up a report detailing the testing methodology, what and why I tested certain aspects of the landing page, what the results were and most importantly, what I would like to test next and why (i.e. I want to retain that customer for another study).

    –If I had $500 to spend:
    I would purchase several books on website conversion optimization. Specifically:
    - Landing Page Optimization by Tim Ash
    -Web Analytics: An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik
    -Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics by Brian Clifton
    -Web Design for ROI: Turning Browsers into Buyers… by Lance Loveday
    -Web Analytics 2.0 by Avinash Kaushik

    –If I had $1000 to spend:
    I would take two certification courses on “online testing” and “landing page optimization” by a company called Marketing Experiments.

    –If I had $5000 to spend:
    I would take the master certification course on conversion optimization offered by Market Motive ($3500). I would also attend the “Conversion Conference” and buy the books mentioned above.

    Reply
76. Patrick C says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Umm… sounds like a fantastic idea for people with high time costs. This may sound petty, but for me and my family just deciding what to eat is an ordeal and can, and often does, result in an argument.

    This is definitely something I’d be willing to pay for.

    Reply
77. Jessica H. says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    I design playful solutions to intractable problems – from helping people quit smoking to keeping students engaged in the classroom. That right there is my over-delivery! I originally thought my freelance idea was helping people do “serious game” design, but that’s not what the client cares about. They care about outcomes, not process! Really what I can do for you is fix problems of motivation, engagement and behavior that aren’t amenable to mainstream solutions – and I’ve got lots of non-mainstream tools in my toolkit that I can put to work for you.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.
    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I’d spend $500 on iPhone development tools and books. I’m getting more and more interest in mobile projects. When I’m pitching, I need to get a sense of what’s hard to create and what’s easy, even though I don’t think programming is my value-add. I don’t expect to be programming much myself, but I have to understand enough to create designs that make sense for a client’s budget.

    I’d spend $1000 on a project management / leadership course. Unless I want to do pure consulting, at some point someone’s going to ask me to build the projects I pitch, and that means getting better at leading a team!

    I’d spend $5000 on putting together a top-notch playful solution for a problem that people in my target audience care about, so I can convince even people who are skeptical of playful solutions that my ideas work. Specifically, that would mean hiring a couple of good freelancers for a month to build the thing with me!

    Reply
78. Daniel Schellenberg says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    Give your Commodity a Personality!

    Many farmers want to reach out to the consumers of their lamb, peas, chicken and spicy peppers. They see it as a way to add value to their products that are often stuck on the commodity market. But, what is the best way?

    My freelance idea is to develop websites for farmers. The average farmer in America today is 40-60 years old so, they don’t know where to begin.

    Forget domains, hosting and design. I’ll take care of it. All you have to do is upload content to my secure workspace about WHO you are, WHAT do you produce, WHERE you are, WHEN is it on the market, WHY you love to farm and HOW to produce. Your website will be up within 24 hours.

    How much does it cost?
    The baseline product is free.

    Customers will pay for upgrades including custom domains and design as well as real-time editing capabilities.

    Should I do this?
    Yes, more and more consumers want to know more about their food. Don’t wait for annoying food safety regulations to put you on the map. Volunteer your information and make your voice heard.

    Any tear down is welcome, Ramit

    -Daniel

    Reply
79. Jeremy says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    Ramit, tell your tech person to fix your favicon. It’s showing up as default in Chrome and Firefox.

    Reply
80. Lori says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    Photography and Graphic Design Studio
    I WAS going to send an email with my price list, and ship the final product to the client. Now, I am going to add a personal note about the value of photography and design. Customize a package just for the client, and put the price in an attached estimate form, so its not hitting them in the face. I’ll also offer to meet them in their home, or another convenient location for further discussion. When complete, I will hand deliver the final product.

    Investing in Myself
    $500: I would buy books and subscribe to magazines that would keep me inspired and on the cutting edge of the industry.

    $1000: Join PPA (Professional Photographers of America) and ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) for their online resources and legal advice specific for my industry. I would also attend a weekend photography conference to learn new skills and expand my network.

    $5000: I would buy the Full Frame Camera and tilt shift lens I would need to do high end Architectural photography. This is the area I really want to go into, I just haven’t been able to make the leap.

    Reply
81. Rob says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:31 pm

    1. How would I over-deliver?

    Well, I have a website for my side business http://www.smartercontext.com
    I started out by polling people I knew about what they wanted in a site on green living, green homes, etc. I created this website in return.

    they told me they watned a site that put seemingly random news articles on the climate into context (hence the name of the website). they wanted to know how to affect change on a large level. they wanted diy tips. they wanted green livign tips.

    now, i can’t get these people to sign-up for the huge over-delivery package that i’ve put together. the first product i’m doing is how to save money and make a healthy home. i’ve released two interviews with experts and am conducting 3 telesemminars. i only have 70 people on my list right now, and only 4 of them signed up.

    i’ve decided to retool and send antoher survey trying to get further into their heads.

    Ramit – what should i do?

    Reply
82. Megan Everett says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    @Frank P — your home-office/personal user customers – even small businesses, don’t care about certs. Certs are great for corporate.

    Reply
83. emcguire says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    The freelance services I provide are illustration and children’s book illustration.

    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    I would use the money for a targeted mailer campaign for the art directors I’m most interested in working with, with samples of my work.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I’d take a trip to New York and meet with my agent and art directors at major publishers.

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I’d consider taking master level classes to improve my skills even more.

    Question for you guys-
    I’m finding it really difficult to apply some of these strategies to a more competitive industry, such as mine. I’m providing a unique product (illustration in my style as opposed to another artist) but not a unique service (there are hundreds of illustrators). The people I’m targeting need illustration and are willing to pay (art directors) but there’s no reason they need me more than another artist.
    The work I’ve gotten so far has been because clients like my style and want that specific style, so how do I create that same demand that has brought me clients so far? Broadening my style to get more work seems counter-intuitive to finding a niche.
    Thanks

    -Erin

    Reply
84. Megan Everett says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    GREAT case study & lesson! I would post my answers to your questions – but you’ve already totally demolished my “great idea.” I’m back at the drawing board, and now going after an entirely different market. I’ve gotta go find some people to talk to…..

    Reply
85. Frank P. says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    1. A) You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it?
    B)How are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client?

    A)I was intending on delivering it using Word of Mouth recommendations and networking at my current job as a elementary tech support rep. I am constantly asked to look at personal computers while on the job, so having a gig on the side to refer them to would help.
    B)I would over-deliver my services to the client by being on-site when needed and also offering remote desktop service that would allow me to guide the customer virtually to troubleshoot their issue.

    2. If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it?
    Learning how to write effective copy and marketing techniques. I suffer from the “here’s what I offer, you like what you see?” problem Andrew had. Being able to convince potential customers that they want what I have to offer is proving more difficult than I expected.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    I would take some certification courses (Networking+, Microsoft Certs, CISCO Certs)to further improve my marketability.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    I would probably get an MBA or supportive higher education to increase my marketability to much larger clients. My current targeted customer is home-office / personal user; with a further expanded knowledge set, I could reach farther and aim for small to local businesses and above.

    Reply
86. Jeremy says:

    January 28, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    Freelance idea: Work with retail stores and leisure/hospitality venues to improve their customer’s experience. Eliminate the pain, let them make more money.

    Original delivery plan: Develop an action plan in one four-hour session to address pain points harvested from customer feedback.

    Over-deliver: Bring in a competitive analysis showing what their competition is doing in that area, and show them how much it costs them to do nothing about their pain points. Develop action plan, and schedule a follow-up to make sure they’re implementing the plan. Create a way for them to visually track how much money they’re now making from not pissing people off.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it?
    CRM classes/certification to speed up the learning process for the new tools I need.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    CRM classes, as above, plus more advanced training/conferences like Dreamforce and Oracleworld.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?
    All of the above plus foreign language tutoring, so I can make my business portable, and move overseas.

    Reply
87. Ramit Sethi says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:59 pm

    Bobby, fill out the exercise like I specifically mentioned above and at least give yourself a chance to get some consulting. Come on, man.

    Reply
88. Bobby W says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    At first glance I really like this idea of catering meals and snacks. But it runs into the same issue I have with my idea. I am knitting golf head covers and dog sweaters. I chose those items because they have the biggest mark up. A set of 3 hand made head covers sells at $85.00 and even higher. The issue is time. I recently purchased a knitting machine($150.00) and it still takes over an hour to make one head cover(its not automated). My initial goal is to make $500 a month. Which means I need to any where from 6 to 8 sets and spending at least 20+ hours knitting the product.

    Reply
89. Rani S. says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:47 pm

    Betty,

    You could also consider creating presentations for people. A lot of people have to create them but aren’t good at PowerPoint or aren’t good at getting their thoughts together. Just another skill (if that’s something you are good at or enjoy doing too) to sell to others.

    Reply
90. Heather says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    1.
    I don’t actually know how I was planning to deliver my freelance idea before; I just had a vague notion of what I could provide, and possibly who might benefit from it.

    After reading today’s lesson I realised that before I can even attempt to answer that question I need to do a lot more research on how the industry I’m ‘targeting’ as clients actually works, and have a look at my own skills a bit more. What I have just now isn’t quite marketable yet.

    2.
    * If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it?

    I’d buy an online course from Escape Studios called Maya Core: Introduction to Lighting and Rendering for £169.36, and 5-6 training ebooks from 3D Total on different aspects of lighting and effects.

    * If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I would sign up to a 5 week training course by Gnomon on Digital Sculpting for £450 and put the rest of the money towards a student bundle of 3D software. It’d give me a decent leg-up that a lot of other students wouldn’t have unless they’d spent longer studying (not many degrees, particularly in this country, teach digital sculpting).

    * If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    I’d end up spending $25 dollars more, but that would get me signed up to three ten week courses at Gnomon on Texturing, Lighting, and Advanced Lighting. That would have me better qualified in that field than a lot of degree students in this country.

    Reply
91. Rani S. says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:44 pm

    I am currently working as a Process Improvement Specialist for a Manufacturing company to help them with improved efficiency and cost reduction. I use a lot of Industrial Engineer tools and techniques to do this. But a lot of the techniques are common sense and can be applied to a vast number of areas. I use it on a daily basis even to clean, shop, email, etc everything. I want to use these skills to apply it to areas outside of manufacturing (I’m ready to get out of the dirty environment!) such as small businesses or busy professionals. The hard part is how to word all that and creating the right plan to convince those professionals to see that what I’ve done for a multimillion dollar manufacturing company can be applied to them as well. And I think there might be a little fear in me too! What do you guys all think of this idea?

    Reply
92. Stephen says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Killer post. My brother and I have been discussing personal chef services (he’s a professional chef and can cook, but totally new to freelancing & finding customers). The idea of describing the exact customer is awesome.

    One minor criticism. He’s not making $1500 from two customers; he has to subtract costs to figure out what he’s making. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s pretty easy to screw up costs on projects and get paid several hundred dollars per month but after costs are subtracted discover that the numbers aren’t so fantastic based on the time needed.

    But you just sold me on the earn1k subscription. Looking forward to it!

    Reply
93. Andrew Baber says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    Adam: You’re right. The selection and a-la-minute quality of takeout food will ALWAYS be better than food prepared in advance.

    In fact one of my clients brought this up directly:

    “per unit cost is very high, and I pay for the same dinner 3 times. if i went out or did delivery, i could get 3 different dishes.”

    My response to this:
    “#1 drawback of the service. it is really difficult to increase the # of different dishes without increasing the price dramatically unless there is a large enough customer base to subsidize the extra labor.”

    However, you negate your entire argument by saying that “if it were substantially more convenient” it would be a worthwhile purchase to you. For the customers that I am currently serving, this is in fact the case. [see ramit's comment]

    Saving money costs you time (“work”) which is exactly why the niche I targeted is capable of making far more in that same amount of time than they would have saved by doing it themselves.

    I find it interesting that you mention ordering a bunch of takeout and paying half as much because I have been looking into this as an alternative solution to making food out of my house. [Logic being: if I needed to serve 100 people I wouldn't be able to cook it all myself and thus specialized catering orders from restaurants are a close proxy to the ideal kitchen team I would run on my own]

    The downsides to doing this, however, is that the “home-cooked” aspect and personalized components are negated.

    PS: where do you live? I’d love some $6/meal ethnic food

    Reply
94. John says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    Freelance Idea: A user-submitted video website for the gay fetish community. Current websites out there that target this audience are poorly designed and can be unreliable. I can write a better interface that doesn’t look like it’s from the 90s, and know how to set up a scalable/reliable hosting solution. I will go over and above by providing awesome social networking features like searchable user profiles and tagging users in videos.

    If I had $500 to spend on self-improvement I’d spend it on sailing lessons ’cause that’d be awesome. (I’ll probably do this anyway this summer)

    If I had $1000/$5000 to spend on self improvement I’d put it towards all the legal set-up I’m anticipating for my website.

    Reply
95. mari says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    I would have left out the long bulleted list of prices and options on the cover letter. Hard to read and too much to think about.

    Reply
96. Blake W. says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    Betty,

    I think you should niche it down. You say that you are more energized when you know the subject matter, what areas are you already well informed in? I would identify 3 such areas, then determine which one people might actually pay for.

    Reply
97. Blake W. says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    1. You’ve been thinking about your freelance idea to earn money on the side. How WERE you going to deliver it? And after reading today’s lesson on over-delivering, how are you now going to OVER-DELIVER to your client? Be specific.

    -I was going to post flyers. After reading this post I realize that I need to smash at least three drafts before I even start building the final one.
    -I will be cross training non-business majors seeking business jobs. To over-deliver I will go beyond the specific skill set promised and deliver other (relevant) skills, such as speed reading. I will also leverage my own networking connections to help my clients land interviews.

    2. Andrew invested in my book, Scrooge, and multi-hundred dollar Boot Camp WITHOUT knowing what the exact return would be — he analyzed it, decided it would be worth it, and took a leap of faith.

    If you HAD to spend $500 on self improvement, how would you spend it? Provide real world examples of what you’d invest in — and what it would get you.

    -I would pay for a valuable skill, like speed reading, that could be applied to anything I do. Something that could be leveraged in multiple directions at different times.

    If you had to spend $1,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    -I would pay to become very well versed in one specific area (finance or tax) that other people are not particularly well versed in. I am already educated in both tax and finance, but not at a asufficient level to charge a fee.

    If you had to spend $5,000 on self improvement, what would you spend it on? Why?

    -I would spend it to get some level of official certification related to finance, tax, etc. I am great at BS, but eventually credentials also come in handy.

    Reply
98. chris h. says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:07 pm

    AWESOME!!! And I have been looking for a chef to give classes at a party – great info. I am “starting” to get the nerve to get motivated Ramit, thank you for the mojo!

    Reply
99. Betty says:

    January 28, 2010 at 12:07 pm

    I have been thinking about freelancing as a presenter but not sure how to start. I enjoy standing in front of an audience and delivery a lesson, but it must be on a subject I truly understand. I more knowlegeable I am about the subject the more enegized I become and the more I excited I am. I also enjoy writing and editing, but how does one turn that into money making business?

    Reply
100. Ramit Sethi says:

     January 28, 2010 at 12:05 pm

     Adam, I agree that it’s not the best for you. That’s why you’re not the customer!

     But for me (to get in the customer’s mind)…

     * I don’t want to have to think about what to get day after day <— THIS IS CRITICAL
     * I want it to be healthy
     * Price isn't my top concern <—ALSO CRITICAL for many clients

     Again this is an extremely niche market, but also lucrative. That's the point.

     Reply
101. Adam Powell says:

     January 28, 2010 at 11:59 am

     What this whole plan fails to consider is the consumer’s alternative. I like to purchase prepared ethnic food every day; it’s called take-out food, and costs me an average of $6 per meal. Furthermore, while I do have to “work” to select meals, I get full control over what I’m served (I don’t eat half the meats mentioned on Bjorn’s menu.) So, in my mind, Bjorn’s offering is inferior to take-out, and I would only buy it if it were substantially more convenient or lower in price. If you value the snacks at $5 each (which seems steep), this would be about $20 per meal. Alternatively, I could just order a bunch of takeout food that I like all at once and pay less than half as much.

     Reply